Description du projet
Une nouvelle théorie pour expliquer comment les déplacements des robots peuvent commencer à s’apparenter davantage à ceux des humains
Le marché des robots humanoïdes devrait connaître une croissance importante au cours des prochaines années, mais les robots ne sont pas encore aussi mobiles qu’ils devraient l’être pour des applications dans le domaine de la santé ou des interventions en cas de catastrophe. Il est essentiel d’améliorer leur capacité à traverser rapidement et en toute sécurité tout un éventail d’environnements différents. L’objectif principal du projet M-Runners, financé par l’UE, consiste à développer une nouvelle théorie des vibrations non linéaires pour les systèmes rigides élastiques, aussi bien biologiques que robotiques. Une meilleure compréhension des propriétés de résonance mécanique du corps facilitera grandement le contrôle de la locomotion. Le projet cible l’utilisation de robots destinés à explorer des endroits difficiles d’accès et des terrains accidentés sur Mars.
Objectif
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.
Champ scientifique
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesneurobiology
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyspace exploration
- natural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsdynamical systems
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiophysics
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencemachine learning
Mots‑clés
Programme(s)
Thème(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantInstitution d’accueil
51147 Koln
Allemagne