Running with a simulated quadruped
We use Pacer to make a quadrupedal robot run in a multi-rigid body simulation with rigid contact.
The robot is controlled using (1) joint error-feedback (PID) control (unilateral contact with friction); (2) inverse dynamics (unilateral contact with friction); and (3) inverted pendulum error-feedback stabilization (assuming compressive and frictional ground reaction forces)
The direction that the robot heads is determined online using human inputs. The robot runs toward a waypoint 10 meters in front of its starting position.
Running at 0.5 m/s (1.1 mph):
Running at 1 – 1.5 m/s (2.2 - 3.3 mph):
Scaling the R. Links robot up to the size of Big Dog (Boston Dynamics) or HyQ (IIT)—both are roughly 1 meter in length— is equivalent to a 10 mph run.
Performed using Pacer.
Project page: https://github.com/PositronicsLab/Pacer