Energy-Efficient Locomotion Strategies and Performance Benchmarks using Point Mass Tensegrity Dynamics
Brian M. Cera, Anthony A. Thompson, Alice M. Agogino
Abstract
This work introduces a novel 12-motor paired-cable actuation scheme to achieve rolling locomotion with a spherical tensegrity structure. Using a new point mass tensegrity dynamic formulation which we present, we utilize Model Predictive Control to generate optimal state-action trajectories for benchmark evaluation. In particular, locomotive performance is assessed based on the practical criteria of rolling speed, energy efficiency, and directional trajectory-tracking accuracy. Through simulation of 6-motor, 12-motor paired cable, and 24-motor fully-actuated policies, we demonstrate that the 12-motor schema is superior to the 6-motor policy in all benchmark categories, comparable to the 24-motor policy in rolling speed, and is over five times more energy efficient than the fully-actuated 24-motor configuration.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{iros2019_energyefficientl,
title = {Energy-Efficient Locomotion Strategies and Performance Benchmarks using Point Mass Tensegrity Dynamics},
author = {Brian M. Cera and Anthony A. Thompson and Alice M. Agogino},
booktitle = {IROS 2019},
year = {2019}
}