Speaker
Hae-Won Park, Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States
Topic
Control Design for Dynamic Legged Locomotion Robots
Abstract
The
need
for
robot
systems
in
disaster
response
and
rehabilitation
applications
motivates
us
to
study
legged
locomotion.
In
order
to
make
such
robot
systems
navigate
unstructured
and
degraded
environments,
control
design
which
achieves
robust
and
dynamic
walking
or
running
gaits
is
necessary.
In
this
talk,
I
will
present
two
examples
of
dynamic
locomotion
robots:
a
bipedal
robot,
MABEL
at
the
University
of
Michigan,
and
a
quadruped
robot,
MIT
Cheetah
2
at
MIT.
The
novel
control
designs
for
both
robots
are
developed
using
optimal
motion
planning,
feedback
design,
and
inspiration
from
biological
counterparts,
which
enables
dynamically
stable
and
robust
locomotion.
First,
I
will
talk
about
the
control
design
which
allows
MABEL
to
accommodate
unknown
terrain
with
ground
variations
up
to
20%
of
its
leg
length
(20
cm)
without
any
vision
feedback.
Next,
I
will
introduce
an
impulse-planning
control
design
which
not
only
enables
MIT
Cheetah
2
to
run
with
a
wide
range
speeds
from
0
to
6
m/sec
(22
km/h)
but
also
provides
autonomous
jumps
over
obstacles
with
a
maximum
height
of
40
cm
(80%
of
body
height)
while
running
with
a
speed
of
2.5
m/sec
(9
km/h).
Speaker's biography
Dr. Hae-Won Park is a Research Scientist in the department of Mechanical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research interests lie at the intersection of control, dynamics, and mechanical design of robotic systems, with special emphasis on locomotion robots. Dr. Hae-Won Park received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, in 2005 and 2007, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan, in 2012, all in mechanical engineering. His postdoctoral work on the MIT Cheetah 2 robot has received a considerable amount of publicity worldwide with articles appearing in TIME, Washington Post, AP News, IEEE Spectrum, and MIT News. His doctoral work on the bipedal robot MABEL is also featured in the museum exhibition, “The Machine Inside: Biomechanics”, at the Chicago Field Museum.