COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN OF ROBOTS FROM HIGH-LEVEL TASK SPECIFICATIONS

Computational robot design from task specifications.

A robot design system, and associated method, that is particularly well-suited for legged robots (e.g., monopods, bipeds, and quadrupeds). The system implements three stages or modules: (a) a motion optimization module; (b) a morphology optimization module; and (c) a link length optimization module. The motion optimization module outputs motion trajectories of the robot's center of mass (COM) and force effectors. The morphology optimization module uses as input the optimized motion trajectories and a library of modular robot components and outputs an optimized robot morphology, e.g., a parameterized mechanical design in which the number of links in each of the legs and other parameters are optimized. The link length optimization module takes this as input and outputs optimal link lengths for a particular task such that the design of a robot is more efficient. The system solves the problem of automatically designing legged robots for given locomotion tasks by numerical optimization.

BACKGROUND1. Field of the Description

The present description relates, in general, to robotic devices and associated design processes and, more particularly, a system and method for providing computational design of robotic devices, such as legged robots, using a high-level task specified as input.2. Relevant Background

Over the past five decades, robots have fundamentally transformed industrial manufacturing. More recently, hardware platforms are becoming increasingly versatile and affordable, and robots promise to have an equally profound impact on our daily lives. Indeed, the way we work, learn, and play may forever be changed in the coming years by robotic assistants that help with chores, by robotic therapeutic companions that deliver personalized social and cognitive support, and by robotic playmates that promote educational activities.

Partly due to the need to easily configure customized robotic devices to provide these robots or robotic systems (or devices) and partly due to the economy of mass production, it is common practice to employ a standard set of modular components (e.g., servo motors, mounting brackets, and other structural elements) when creating robotic systems or robots. The task of designing a new robot can amount to choosing which of these modular components to use, determining how to combine them to form a functional system that is sufficiently versatile, and deciding how to control the resulting assembly in order to achieve a new ro