Descripción del proyecto
Nueva teoría para explicar cómo los robots pueden empezar a moverse más como las personas
El mercado de los robots humanoides está a punto de experimentar un crecimiento significativo en los próximos años. Con todo, los robots aún carecen de la movilidad necesaria para aplicaciones en la asistencia sanitaria o en la respuesta a catástrofes. Por lo tanto, mejorar su capacidad para desplazarse de forma rápida y segura a través de una amplia variedad de entornos es crucial. El objetivo principal del proyecto financiado con fondos europeos M-Runners es desarrollar una nueva teoría de vibraciones no lineales para sistemas rígido-elásticos, tanto biológicos como robóticos. Una mejor comprensión de las propiedades de resonancia mecánica del cuerpo facilitará enormemente el control de la locomoción. El proyecto se centra en el empleo de robots para la exploración de lugares de difícil acceso y terrenos irregulares en Marte.
Objetivo
The aim of M-Runners is to thoroughly advance the understanding of fundamental dynamic principles of legged locomotion to the point that those principles can be used to design robots which display similar motion characteristics, versatility, and efficiency as their biological paragons. The central hypothesis of the project is that biological locomotion is fundamentally determined by the mechanical resonance properties of the body and that a breakthrough in robot locomotion is essentially linked to understanding and exploiting these phenomena. If body design is such that walking and running correspond to intrinsic periodic motions of the body, then the control is simple and efficiency and robustness are natural consequences. However, large-amplitude nonlinear oscillations of such complex systems are today still not well understood. Mathematical methods to describe, analyze, design and control elastic resonant robots are lacking to a large extent. The project is thus dedicated to develop a new theory of nonlinear oscillations, applicable to elastic multibody systems, be they biologic or robotic.
M-Runners will perform interdisciplinary research at the border between robotics, nonlinear dynamical systems and vibration theory, biomechanics, and machine learning. We will take inspiration from biology regarding the basic motion sequences and the muscle arrangements (couplings, redundancies, compliance distributions). Conversely, we expect our theory to generate new hypotheses for a deeper understanding of locomotion biomechanics and its control by the nervous system.
We will design and demonstrate robots which can move at similar speed and mechanical energetic efficiency as animals and humans and which have comparable uneven terrain versatility and robustness. The primary application scenario is space exploration on Mars in canyons, caves or steep ridge slopes. Applications of the technology reach, however, from health-care over personal-assistance to disaster management.
Ámbito científico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesneurobiology
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyspace exploration
- natural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsdynamical systems
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiophysics
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencemachine learning
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitución de acogida
51147 Koln
Alemania