Legged Robot Stair Negotiation With Safe Step Region Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robots face challenges in navigating stairs due to the lack of natural coordination, which can result in missteps, slips, or falls, as they require precise leg movements and foot placement that existing systems fail to provide effectively.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for a robot to navigate stairs by using data processing hardware to determine safe step regions, adjust weight distribution, and control leg movements, including identifying collision regions and kinematics to ensure stable and precise foot placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If robots use existing leg movement systems to navigate stairs, then they can attempt to traverse the stairs, but they lack precise coordination which results in missteps, slips, or falls
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by determining safe step regions and collision regions before the robot traverses the stairs. The data processing hardware identifies safe placement areas for the distal end of swing legs and adjusts weight distribution toward the front portion of the robot prior to stepping, enabling precise coordination and preventing missteps during actual traversal
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously receives image data about the robot maneuvering in the environment with stairs and uses this feedback to determine safe step regions, adjust body height and pitch, and control leg movements in real-time, ensuring stable and coordinated navigation
2Reliability
If the robot adjusts body height and pitch to avoid collision regions, then it can prevent collisions with stairs, but it requires complex coordination of multiple parameters
Solution Approach 1:
The system determines collision regions for each stair prior to traversal and pre-calculates the necessary adjustments to body height and pitch. By identifying safe step regions and collision regions in advance, the robot can execute coordinated movements without real-time complexity during actual stair negotiation
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts multiple parameters including body height of the center of mass, pitch of the robot about the longitudinal axis, and weight distribution. These parameter changes are coordinated through data processing hardware that integrates image data, safe step region determination, and collision region identification to achieve smooth, collision-free traversal
3Measurement precision
If the robot moves the distal end of swing legs to target step locations within safe regions, then it achieves precise foot placement, but it requires accurate real-time control
Solution Approach 1:
The system determines safe step regions for each stair before the robot traverses the stairs. By pre-identifying safe placement areas for the distal end of swing legs based on received image data, the robot can execute precise foot placement without complex real-time control during the actual stepping action
Solution Approach 2:
The robot's data processing hardware autonomously determines safe step regions, identifies collision regions, and controls leg movements without external intervention. The system self-regulates the positioning of swing leg distal ends to target locations within safe regions, achieving precise foot placement through integrated autonomous control
Data Source
AI summary
A method for negotiating stairs includes receiving image data about a robot maneuvering in an environment with stairs. Here, the robot includes two or more legs. Prior to the robot traversing the stairs, for each stair, the method further includes determining a corresponding step region based on the received image data. The step region identifies a safe placement area on a corresponding stair for a distal end of a corresponding swing leg of the robot. Also prior to the robot traversing the stairs, the method includes shifting a weight distribution of the robot towards a front portion of the robot. When the robot traverses the stairs, the method further includes, for each stair, moving the distal end of the corresponding swing leg of the robot to a target step location where the target step location is within the corresponding step region of the stair.