Passive Dynamics in the Control of Gymnastic Maneuvers

Item

Title: en_US Passive Dynamics in the Control of Gymnastic Maneuvers
Creator: en_US Playter, Robert
Date: 2004-10-20T20:27:42Z
Date Available: 2004-10-20T20:27:42Z
Date Issued: en_US 1995-03-01
Identifier: en_US AITR-1504
uri: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7059
Abstract: en_US The control of aerial gymnastic maneuvers is challenging because these maneuvers frequently involve complex rotational motion and because the performer has limited control of the maneuver during flight. A performer can influence a maneuver using a sequence of limb movements during flight. However, the same sequence may not produce reliable performances in the presence of off-nominal conditions. How do people compensate for variations in performance to reliably produce aerial maneuvers? In this report I explore the role that passive dynamic stability may play in making the performance of aerial maneuvers simple and reliable. I present a control strategy comprised of active and passive components for performing robot front somersaults in the laboratory. I show that passive dynamics can neutrally stabilize the layout somersault which involves an "inherently unstable" rotation about the intermediate principal axis. And I show that a strategy that uses open loop joint torques plus passive dynamics leads to more reliable 1 1/2 twisting front somersaults in simulation than a strategy that uses prescribed limb motion. Results are presented from laboratory experiments on gymnastic robots, from dynamic simulation of humans and robots, and from linear stability analyses of these systems.
Extent: 30256720 bytes; 4664705 bytes
Format: application/postscript; application/pdf
Language: en_US
Relation: en_US AITR-1504

Item sets: AI Technical Reports (1964 - 2004)