CONTROL DEVICE FOR LEGGED MOBILE ROBOT

• US 20110098856A1
• Filed: 10/26/2010
• Published: 04/28/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yoshiike, Takahide, Kaneko, Hiroyuki, Orita, Atsuo
• Granted Patent: US 8,306,657 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/246
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 57/032 with alternately or sequentially lifted supporting base and legs; with alternately or sequentially lifted feet or skid B62D57/024 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/008 based on physical entities controlled by simulated intelligence so as to replicate intelligent life forms, e.g. based on robots replicating pets or humans in their appearance or behaviour

Abstract

A control device for a legged mobile robot has a first motion determiner which sequentially determines the instantaneous value of a first motion of a robot by using a first dynamic model and a second motion determiner which sequentially determines the instantaneous value of a second motion of the robot by using a second dynamic model, and sequentially determines a desired motion of the robot by combining the first motion and the second motion. A low frequency component and a high frequency component of a feedback manipulated variable having a function for bringing a posture state amount error, which indicates the degree of the deviation of an actual posture of the robot from a desired posture, close to zero are fed back to the first motion determiner and the second motion determiner, respectively.

Claims

1. A control device for a legged mobile robot that controls the motion of a legged mobile robot, which travels by moving a plurality of legs extended from a base body thereof, so as to cause the actual motion of the robot to follow the time series of an instantaneous value of a desired motion while sequentially determining the instantaneous value of the desired motion of the robot by using a dynamic model expressing the dynamics of the robot, the control device including:

a first motion determining unit which uses a first dynamic model preset for expressing the dynamics of the robot to carry out first arithmetic processing for calculating the motion of a robot on the first dynamic model, thereby sequentially determining the instantaneous value of a first motion constituting a desired motion of the robot;

a second motion determining unit which uses a second dynamic model preset for expressing the dynamics of the robot to carry out second arithmetic processing for calculating the motion of a robot on the second dynamic model, thereby sequentially determining the instantaneous value of a second motion constituting a desired motion of the robot;

a desired motion determining unit which sequentially determines an instantaneous value of the desired motion by combining an instantaneous value of the first motion and an instantaneous value of the second motion;

a motion control unit which controls the motion of the robot such that the actual motion of the robot follows the time series of an instantaneous value of the desired motion;

a feedback manipulated variable determining unit which sequentially observes a posture state amount error indicating the degree of deviation of an actual posture of the robot from a posture of the robot defined by an instantaneous value of the desired motion and sequentially determines, on the basis of the observed value of the posture state amount error, a model basic manipulated variable, which is a feedback manipulated variable for manipulating at least the first dynamic model and the second dynamic model as a feedback manipulated variable having a function for bringing the posture state amount error close to zero; and

a model external force manipulated variable determining unit which sequentially determines, on the basis of the model basic manipulated variable, a first model external force manipulated variable that defines an additional external force to be additionally applied to the robot on the first dynamic model and a second model external force manipulated variable that defines an additional external force to be additionally applied to the robot on the second dynamic model as the manipulated variables to be distributed to the first dynamic model and the second dynamic model, respectively, from the model basic manipulated variable,

wherein the execution cycle of the processing by the second motion determining unit, the desired motion determining unit, the motion control unit, and the feedback manipulated variable determining unit, respectively, and the execution cycle of the processing for determining at least the second model external force manipulated variable in the processing by the model external force manipulated variable determining unit are set to be shorter than the execution cycle of the processing by the first motion determining unit,

the first motion determining unit carries out the first arithmetic processing while additionally applying the additional external force defined by the determined first model external force manipulated variable to the robot on the first dynamic model,

the second motion determining unit carries out the second arithmetic processing while additionally applying the additional external force defined by the determined second model external force manipulated variable to the robot on the second dynamic model, and

the model external force manipulated variable determining unit determines the first model external force manipulated variable and the second model external force manipulated variable such that the sensitivity of a change in the first model external force manipulated variable to a low frequency component is relatively higher than to a high frequency component out of the low frequency component and the high frequency component constituting the model basic manipulated variable and that the sensitivity of a change in the second model external force manipulated variable to the high frequency component is relatively higher than to the low frequency component.

2. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 1,

wherein the model external force manipulated variable determining unit sequentially acquires the low frequency component and the high frequency component from the model basic manipulated variable by using at least one of a filter having a low-pass characteristic and a filter having a high-pass characteristic, and determines the low frequency component and the high frequency component, which have been acquired, as the first model external force manipulated variable and the second model external force manipulated variable, respectively.

3. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 1,

wherein, when determining the second model external force manipulated variable anew, the model external force manipulated variable determining unit determines the second model external force manipulated variable such that the second model external force manipulated variable changes according to the resultant value of the difference between the value of the low frequency component at current time and the latest value of the low frequency component:

reflected on the instantaneous value of the first motion already determined by the first motion determining unit and the value of the high frequency component at current time.

4. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 1,

wherein the model external force manipulated variable determining unit determines the low frequency component sequentially acquired from the model basic manipulated variable as the first model external force manipulated variable and determines, as a new value of the second model external force manipulated variable, the value obtained by subtracting the latest value of the first model external force manipulated variable already used to determine the first motion by the first motion determining unit from the model basic manipulated variable at current time when newly determining the second model external force manipulated variable.

5. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 1,

wherein the feedback manipulated variable determining unit is a unit that sequentially determines, on the basis of an observed value of the posture state amount error, the model basic manipulated variable and an actual robot external force manipulated variable defining an additional external force to be additionally applied to the actual robot as the feedback manipulated variables that have the function for bringing the posture state amount error close to zero, and

the motion control unit has a compliance control function that controls the motion of the robot to cause the actual motion of the robot to follow the time series of the instantaneous value of the desired motion while additionally applying an additional external force defined by the actual robot external force manipulated variable to the actual robot.

6. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 5,

wherein the feedback manipulated variable determining unit further includes a unit that sequentially calculates a model state amount error, which is the difference between the value of a predetermined type of state amount of the second dynamic model and a predetermined desired value of the state amount, and determines a set of the model basic manipulated variable and the actual robot external force manipulated variable on the basis of an observed value of the posture state amount error and a calculated value of the model state amount error as a feedback manipulated variable having the function for bringing the posture state amount error and the model state amount error close to zero.

7. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 1,

wherein the instantaneous value of the second motion determined by the second motion determining unit is the instantaneous value of a perturbation motion of a predetermined portion for correcting the instantaneous value of the motion of the predetermined portion of the robot defined by the instantaneous value of the first motion determined by the first motion determining unit, and

the second motion determining unit uses, as the second dynamic model, a perturbation dynamic model preset to express the relationship between the perturbation motion of the predetermined portion and the perturbation amount of an external force to be applied to the robot and carries out, as the second arithmetic processing, the arithmetic processing for calculating the perturbation motion of the predetermined portion on a perturbation dynamic model while causing the perturbation amount of an external force to be applied to the robot on the perturbation dynamic model to agree with the additional external force defined by the second model external force manipulated variable.

8. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 7,

wherein the first motion determining unit is a unit that carries out the first arithmetic processing by using leg motion parameters defining a desired motion trajectory of the distal end portion of each leg of the robot and ZMP trajectory parameters defining the trajectory of a desired ZMP of the robot, and has a unit that variably determines the leg motion parameters and the ZMP trajectory parameters such that at least a predetermined requirement related to the motion of the robot on the first dynamic model is satisfied and the desired ZMP defined by the ZMP trajectory parameters exists in a predetermined permissible range that depends upon the desired motion trajectory of the distal end portion of each of the legs defined by the leg motion parameters, and

the perturbation motion of the predetermined portion as the instantaneous value of the second motion determined by the second motion determining unit is a perturbation motion of the base body.

9. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 1, further comprising:

a model external force manipulated variable predicting unit which determines the time series of a future predicted value of the first model external force manipulated variable supplied to the first motion determining unit from the model external force manipulated variable determining unit on the basis of the first model external force manipulated variable determined by the model external force manipulated variable determining unit; and

a future target determining unit which determines a future target of a desired motion of the robot,

wherein the first motion determining unit comprises at least a unit which determines arithmetic parameters necessary for the first arithmetic processing by using the time series of a future predicted value of the determined first model external force manipulated variable and the determined target such that a requirement that the time series of the instantaneous value of the first motion determined in the case where it is assumed that the first arithmetic processing has been carried out while additionally applying the time series of an additional external force, which is defined by the time series of a future predicted value of the determined first model external force manipulated variable, to the robot on the first dynamic model in a predetermined period in the future will reach or converge to the determined target in the future is satisfied, and carries out the first arithmetic processing by using the determined arithmetic parameters.

10. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 8, further comprising:

a model external force manipulated variable predicting unit which determines the time series of a future predicted value of the first model external force manipulated variable supplied to the first motion determining unit from the model external force manipulated variable determining unit on the basis of the first model external force manipulated variable determined by the model external force manipulated variable determining unit; and

a future target determining unit which determines a future target of a desired motion of the robot,

wherein the predetermined requirement is a requirement that the time series of the instantaneous value of the first motion determined in the case where it is assumed that the first arithmetic processing has been carried out while additionally applying the time series of a future predicted value of the determined first model external force manipulated variable to the robot on the first dynamic model in a predetermined period in the future will reach or converge to the determined target in the future.

11. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 9,

wherein the future target determining unit is a unit that determines a reference parameter, which is a virtual reference motion indicating a future convergence target for a desired motion of the robot and which determines a reference motion cyclically repeating the same pattern of motion, as the one indicating the target, and

the predetermined requirement is a requirement that the time series of the instantaneous value of the first motion determined in the case where it is assumed that the first arithmetic processing has been carried out while additionally applying the time series of a future predicted value of the determined first model external force manipulated variable to the robot on the first dynamic model in a predetermined period in the future will converge to a reference motion defined by the determined reference parameter in the future.

12. The control device for a legged mobile robot according to claim 10,

wherein the future target determining unit is a unit that determines a reference parameter, which is a virtual reference motion indicating a future convergence target for a desired motion of the robot and which determines a reference motion cyclically repeating the same pattern of motion, as the one indicating the target, and

the predetermined requirement is a requirement that the time series of the instantaneous value of the first motion determined in the case where it is assumed that the first arithmetic processing has been carried out while additionally applying the time series of a future predicted value of the determined first model external force manipulated variable to the robot on the first dynamic model in a predetermined period in the future will converge to a reference motion defined by the determined reference parameter in the future.