Department of Robotics, Ritsumeikan University, Japan.
Bioinspir Biomim. 2014 Mar;9(1):016003. doi: 10.1088/1748-3182/9/1/016003. Epub 2013 Dec 16.
This paper presents a locomotion control based on central pattern generator (CPG) of a snake-like robot. The main point addressed in this paper is a method that produces a smooth transition of the body shape of a snake-like robot. Body shape transition is important for snake-like robot locomotion to adapt to different space widths and also for obstacle avoidance. By manipulating the phase difference of the CPG outputs instantly, it will results in a sharp point or discontinuity which lead to an unstable movement of the snake-like robot. To tackle the problem, we propose a way of controlling the body shape: by incorporating activation function in the phase oscillator CPG model. The simplicity of the method promises an easy implementation and simple control. Simulation results and torque analysis confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control method and thus, can be used as a locomotion control in various potential applications of a snake-like robot.
本文提出了一种基于蛇形机器人的中心模式发生器（CPG）的运动控制方法。本文主要解决的问题是一种产生蛇形机器人平滑的身体形状过渡的方法。身体形状的过渡对于蛇形机器人的运动非常重要，可以适应不同的空间宽度，也可以用于避障。通过即时操纵 CPG 输出的相位差，会导致蛇形机器人的运动出现尖锐点或不连续，从而导致不稳定的运动。为了解决这个问题，我们提出了一种控制身体形状的方法：在相位振荡器 CPG 模型中加入激活函数。该方法的简单性保证了易于实现和简单的控制。仿真结果和转矩分析证实了所提出的控制方法的有效性，因此可用于蛇形机器人的各种潜在应用中的运动控制。
