*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************
Josie Giles
RIM Communications Officer
josie@gatech.edu
Summary Sentence: Jonathan W. Hurst of Oregon State University presents a seminar as part of the RIM Seminar Series.
Full Summary: This seminar will be held in the TSRB Auditorium in Tech Square from 12-1 p.m. The seminar is open to the public. Jonathan W. Hurst, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Oregon State University, presents "Fundamentals of Walking and Running: From Animal Experiments to Robot Demonstrations" as part of the RIM Seminar Series.
Jonathan W. HurstThis seminar will be held in the TSRB Auditorium in Tech Square from 12-1 p.m. The seminar is open to the public.
Jonathan W. Hurst, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Oregon State University, presents "Fundamentals of Walking and Running: From Animal Experiments to Robot Demonstrations" as part of the RIM Seminar Series.
Abstract
Dynamic walking and running are high-dimensional, highly dynamic, self-stable behaviors that are best implemented by a system comprised of passive elements, such as springs, and active control from sensors and computing. Animals, our best example of this dynamical system, are able to negotiate terrain that varies widely in height as well as firmness, with excellent energy economy. Robots cannot yet approach animal performance, and we contend that this lack of ability by robots is a result of lack of scientific understanding of fundamental principles of legged locomotion rather than any technological limitation.
We seek to answer these fundamental questions of how legged locomotion works, and to demonstrate discoveries by building robots and implementing principled controllers. We have found that simple controllers of the swing leg during flight can replicate observed behavior from animals, including the prioritization of injury avoidance over a steady gait in uneven terrain. Further, we have shown that a simple stance-phase force control method can explain observed biological features such as apparent leg stiffness changes or energy insertion on dissipative ground. The combination of these straightforward controllers allows a simple model to handle surprisingly variable terrain with no terrain knowledge. We currently are implementing these controllers on ATRIAS, our bipedal robot.
