Descrizione del progetto
Nuova teoria per spiegare in che modo i robot possono iniziare a muoversi in maniera simile agli umani
Il mercato dei robot umanoidi è pronto per una crescita significativa nei prossimi anni, ma i robot non sono ancora così mobili come dovrebbero essere per applicazioni in ambito sanitario o in caso di catastrofe. È fondamentale migliorare la loro capacità di attraversare una vasta gamma di ambienti in modo rapido e sicuro. L’obiettivo principale del progetto M-Runners, finanziato dall’UE, è lo sviluppo di una nuova teoria delle vibrazioni non lineari per sistemi rigidi-elastici, sia biologici che robotici. Una più profonda comprensione delle proprietà di risonanza meccanica del corpo semplificherà notevolmente il controllo della locomozione. Il progetto si rivolge all’utilizzo di robot per esplorare posizioni difficili da raggiungere e terreni irregolari su Marte.
Obiettivo
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.
Campo scientifico
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesneurobiology
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomyspace exploration
- natural sciencesmathematicsapplied mathematicsdynamical systems
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiophysics
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencemachine learning
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-ADG - Advanced GrantIstituzione ospitante
51147 Koln
Germania