Legged Robot Climbing via Sensor-Based Object Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current robotic systems are unable to dynamically identify how to climb over objects with different characteristics, often resulting in the robot contacting, tripping, or falling when attempting to navigate environments with varied obstacles, which limits their ability to perform tasks and reduces user confidence in their performance.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that uses sensor data to identify specific climbing operations for a robot based on the characteristics of objects in its environment, associating each object with a corresponding climbing operation customized for its height, foot placement, timing, force, and orientation, allowing the robot to adapt its behavior dynamically.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the robot uses a fixed climbing approach for all objects, then the control system is simple, but the robot cannot adapt to objects with different characteristics and often contacts or trips
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the climbing parameters (foot placement location, timing, force, orientation) based on the detected characteristics of the object. Different objects trigger different climbing operations with specific parameter sets, allowing the robot to adapt to varying object properties without requiring a completely different control architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot performs preliminary detection and identification of object characteristics before initiating the climbing operation. The system pre-identifies the object type and selects the appropriate climbing operation in advance, allowing for smooth transition into the climbing action without sudden adjustments or collisions.
2Reliability
If the robot attempts to climb all objects without selective identification, then the robot appears more active, but it contacts, trips, or falls reducing reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the environment using sensors to detect object characteristics and provides feedback to the control system. Based on this feedback, the robot dynamically selects and adjusts climbing operations, ensuring reliable navigation while maintaining speed through efficient, real-time decision-making rather than slow, trial-and-error approaches.
3Ease of operation
If the robot uses manual user intervention to determine climbing operations, then the climbing operation can be optimized for each object, but the time and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The robot performs self-detection and self-selection of climbing operations using its own sensors and processing capabilities. The system autonomously identifies object characteristics, selects appropriate climbing operations, and executes them without requiring external manual intervention, thereby reducing time loss while maintaining operational ease through intelligent automation.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are described for climbing of objects in an environment of a robot based on sensor data. A system can obtain sensor data of the environment. For example, the system can obtain sensor data from one or more sensors of robot. The system can identify the object based on the sensor data. Further, the system can determine that the object is climbable based on determining that the object corresponds to a particular training object. The system can determine that the object corresponds to the particular training object based on a particular characteristic of the object. The system can identify a climbing operation associated with the training object and instruct the robot to climb on the object based on the climbing operation.