PROJECT TITLE :

Model-Based Hydraulic Impedance Control for Dynamic Robots

ABSTRACT:

Increasingly, robots are designed to interact with the surroundings, as well as humans and tools. Legged robots, in particular, have to deal with environmental contacts each time they take a step. To handle these interactions properly, it is fascinating to be in a position to set the robot's dynamic behavior, i.e., its impedance. During this contribution, we tend to investigate the most relevant theoretical and practical aspects in impedance control using hydraulic actuators, ranging from the force dynamics analysis and model-based mostly controller design to the general stability and performance assessment. We gift results with one leg of the quadruped robot HyQ and also highlight the influence of hardware parameters, like valve bandwidth and inertia, within the impedance and force tracking. In addition, we have a tendency to demonstrate the capabilities of HyQ's actively compliant leg by experimentally comparing it with a passively compliant version of the identical leg. With such a broad spectrum of analyses and discussions, this paper aims to serve as a sensible and comprehensive guide for implementing high-performance impedance management on highly dynamic hydraulic robots.