Robotics and Autonomous Systems 9 (1992) 149-163, Elsevier 149 Power system of a multi-legged walking robot Satish S. Nair Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211, USA Rajendra Singh and Kenneth J. Waldron Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA Vincent J. Vohnout Adaptive Machine Technologies, In, Columbus, OH 43212, USA Communicated by T-M. Knasel Abstract Nair, SS. Singh, R., Waldron, KJ. and Vohnout V.J., Power system of a multi-legged walking robot, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 9 (1992) 149-163, ‘The power system of a legged vehicle is considerably more complex than the one used by a conventional land vehicle because of the wide range of power demands and the coordination and stability issues due to the large number of degrees of freedom. This paper is concerned with the conceptual and physical characteristics of the power system of a rough terrain, sixclegged, walking vehicle. Modelling techniques and detailed analytical and simulation models are developed for the vehicle power system consisting of the prime mover, energy storage system, mechanical drives, hydraulic actuation systems ‘and the associated control systems. Dynamics of the various subsystems and their interactions have been studied for control ‘and optimization purposes. Validation of the models is provided by several experiments performed on a prototype leg and the vehicle. Keywords: Legged robots; Robot power system; System integration; Dynamic simulation, 1. Introduction Land vehicle power systems are normally sub- jected to a very wide range of demands, A wheeled vehicle, for instance, requires considerably differ- ent power levels on a slope compared to a level terrain. This is because the power needed is equal to Py + WyV sin m, for a vehicle of weight Wry, ascending at angle 1 with velocity Vi, while, if environmental resistance is neglected, only the idling power, Py, is required for level-motion. Traversing down a slope, on the other hand, the vehicle should be capable of absorbing the change in gravitational energy, WyVy sin 42. This varia- tion, 2Wy,Vy_ sin 11, is large and makes the design of the power systems for such vehicles consider- ably complex. The problem is exacerbated in the case of walking vehicles due to the following factors: (i) the nature of walking introduces addi- tional large and continuous power fluctuations as the kinetic energy of the legs and other members vary periodically in a walking cycle, (i) higher number of degrees of freedom needs to be actu- ated and controlled as compared to a single one for a conventional vehicle, and (iii) there are complex interactions between the large number of multiply connected subsystems which create problems in coordination and stability, The conceptual and physical characteristics of a typical legged vehicle power system incorporat- ing features to cope with the stringent power demands is considered in this paper. The vehicle is currently undergoing testing at Ohio State Ui versity and is called the Adaptive Suspension Vehicle (ASV) (Fig. 1). It is self-contained and operates routinely in uneven terrain using stati- (0921-8890 /92,/$05.00 © 1992 ~ Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved150 SS. Nair eral cally stable gaits. It weighs about 3200 kg (7200 tbs) and can carry a 225 kg (500 Ib) payload; its length is 5 m (17f¢), normal walking height is 3.3 m (10 ft) and it has a track of 1.5 m (5 ft). The designed cruise speed is 2.25 m/s (S mph), with a sprint capability of 3.6 m/s (8 mph). An onboard operator provides continuous rate control of the longitudinal, lateral and change of heading using a joystick. Leg coordination and foothold selec- tion are completely automated in all but two of the six operational modes. Each leg of the vehicle has three degrees of freedom, referred to as drive, lift and lateral, thus giving a total of 18 computer controlled degrees of freedom for the vehicle. Details of other design features and con- trol strategies can be found in a number of recent papers [1,2,3,4]. Satish Nair is Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineer ing at the University of Missouri-Col tumbia, He obtained his BS. degree from the Indian Institute of Technol. ay, Kanpur, in 1983. He was a Uni- versity Fellow during 1983-84 at Ohio State where he obtained his MS. and PhD. degrees in Mechanical Engi- neering. Subsequently, he joined the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1989, where he is currently Director of the Computer Controlled Systems Laboratory. His research interests include the Control of Mechanical and Manufacturing Systems, Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logie, Robotics and Mechanisms, and Intelligent Systems. Dr. Nair has won the ASME Student Travel Award (4987) and the Outstanding B.S. Project Award (1983,) Rajendra Singh is Professor of Me- chanical Engineering at The Ohio State University. He ‘received the Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University in 1975. He received the MS. Degree from the University of Roorkee, and the B.S Degree with Honors from Birla Inst tute of Technology and Science in India. After graduation and prior (0 joining The Ohio State University in 1979, he worked as a Senior Acous- tics/Dynamics Engineer at the Car- rier Corporation, Syracuse, During 1987-88 Professor Singh Was at the University of California at Berkeley as a Visiting Professor. His current teaching and research activities are in the general areas of machine acoustics, noise control, vibra- tions, uid power and digital signal ‘processing. Professor Singh has authored over 120 publications and has supervised 16 BS. 25 MS. and 11 PhD. theses. He has won several academic and research awards including The Harrison Fac- lulty Award for Excelling in Engineering Tducation (1990), INCE Education Award (1989), and three Engineering Fac uuky Research Awards (1983, 87 and 90) at Ohio State, RH Kohr Research Award (1975) at the Purdue University and Gold Medal for Academic Excellence (1972) at the Universi ‘of Roorkee, 2, Power system A schematic of the prototype vehicle power system is shown in Fig. 2. It shows multiple paths for energy transfer between the subsystems as ‘opposed to just one for a typical wheeled vehicle. ‘The six legs of the vehicle have 18 independent hydraulic actuation systems networked into a sin- gle group by the elaborate mechanical transmis sion system shown in Fig. 3. The mechanical transmission system, in turn, interfaces with the power source through a high energy density fly- wheel. Modeling techniques have been developed to come up with reasonablel and reliable models Kenneth J. Waldron obtained the de- grees of Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering Science from the University of Sydney (Australia) He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1969. He has held teach- ing appointments at Stanford, the University of New South Wales, and the University of Houston, before joining The Ohio State University in 1979. His research interests include geometric, mechanical and software Gesign of robots and computer coor dlinated mechanical systems. They also include the kinematics ‘and dynamics of mechanisms, and application of computer- ‘aided engineering techniques’ to mechanism design. He has authored over 130 journal articles and conference proceed ings. He is co-author, with SM. Song, of the book Machines Thai Walk: The Adaptive Suspension Vehicle published by MIT, Press (1988). Dr. Waldron is Technical Editor of the ASME Transactions Jounal of Mechanical Design. He was Director of the Adaptive Suspension Vehicle project, and received the ASME Leonardo da Vinei Award for the design Of that vehicle in March 1988, He is chairman of the Techni fal Committee on Roboties and Automation of the Interna tlonal Federation for Theory of Machines and Mechanisms, He tecelved the ASME Mechanisms Committee Award for 1990. Vincent J. Vohnout, who is one of the founders of Adaptive Machine Tech- nologies, Inc. (AMT), has been the Vice President for Mechanical Sys- tems since the company began opera: tions in 1984, He has also served as the President of this small high tech company since its founding. Located in the OSU research park, AMT pro- Vides engineering and technical sup- port. to. various. research programs within the university. AMT also pro- vides commercial product ‘develop: ‘ment for numerous industrial clients. In addition to his duties with AMT, Mr. Vohnout is also president of Simuletics Ine, fn allied company Which develops and markets advanced athletic training systems. Mr. Vohnout holds an MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University, & Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering. from Cleveland State University, and is a Registered Professional Engineer. He has authored Or co-authored several journal and conference pa- pets concerning topics related, 10 the various research pro ‘grams he has been involved in. He is an avid amateur athlete, ‘competing in track, cycling, and rowing events.Power system of mult-legged robot 151 Fig. 1. Adaptive Suspension Vehicle to predict the subsystem and overall system char- acteristics and yield design information. 2.1. Power source and the flywheel Weight is an important consideration for a self-contained walking vehicle. The force to weight requirements of the primary power source effectively precludes electric sources. In the range of interest, an internal combustion engine is found to provide the best power to weight ratio for the primary power source. The model selected is a 8.2 E-6 m°/s, 67 kW peak power (50 cubic inch, 90 HP), four cylinder motor cycle engine. The engine powers a high density flywheel through a coaxial drive. A flywheel is important in such an off-terrain vehicle for the following reasons, In case of engine failure, it can provide enough energy for a controlled shutdown. It permits re- generative braking by reversing the roles of the hydraulic actuators and pumps. Very high power densities can be drawn for short periods, to over- come obstacles. The large flywheel also isolates the engine from the strong torque fluctuations that the actuation system produces on the drive- line. In the design used, the wheel consists of a high tensile steel rim which is shrunk onto a steel hub plate. A kevlar reinforced epoxy rim is wound on the outside of the steel rim. A soft coupling interposed between the flywheel and the drive- prime mov flywheel ‘mechanical transmission] hydraulic transmission Fig. 2. Schematic of the power system of the ASV.152 SS. Nair etal LEFT 4 4 shaft A 4 Ry 6 37% ? v Wt Leg I controller pulley coupling > flywheel 12 13 14 Kaas Kis,a4 ° *s 10 10 vl Ww " RIGHT Fig. 3. Torsional model of the ASV drive train train to isolate the latter from the flywheel vibra- tions. 2.2. Transmission and actuation systems 2.2.1. Mechanical transmission ‘Three quill shafts driven from the flywheel output shaft run along the length of the body of, the vehicle. All six legs are actuated by drawing power from the quill shafts. The leg degrees of freedom are actuated using independent hydro- static pump controlled linear actuators. An effec- tive leg design makes such an actuation possible (Fig, 4). Two of the quill shafts run along the top left and right sides of the body frame through the lateral swing bearings at which the legs mount to the body while the third runs along the bottom of the frame along the center line. The shafts that run along the top power the main and lift pumps while the shift that runs through the bottom powers the pump that actuates the lateral degree of freedom of each leg. 2.2.2. Leg structure and actuation ‘The torque exerted by the pumps on the drive train depends on the leg actuation and, so, indi reetly, on the leg structure. The vehicle leg is a three degree of freedom pantograph type mecha- nism where the let joints are constrained to move along the guideways as shown in Fig. 4. Such an arrangement decouples the vertical (z) and hori- zontal (x) motions in the plane of the leg, The kinematic design amplifies foot motion with re- spect to the actuator motion by a factor of five in the fore-aft (main, x) direction and by a factor of four in the up-down (lift, z) direction. The leg system is hinged to the body providing the third degree of freedom, lateral (y), The links are made of aluminium alloy. In normal walking, the leg motion is periodic with respect to the bodyPower system of mult-legged robot 153 Asis I 5 Lael) Fig. 4. Schematic of the ASV leg. MAIN ACTUATORS LATERAL ACTUATOR eS, wurr AcTuaTORS y ‘SWASHPLATE CONTROL, ACTUATORS. ft ie Fig. 5. ASV hydraulic actuation system for one leg.154 SS. Nair etal along a path similar to the one traced by a human, leg. It is alternately in support phase, on the ground, and in transfer phase, in the air. It sup- ports part of the vehicle weight during the sup- port phase and also provides the force needed for vehicle acceleration. During the transfer phase it is lifted and repositioned for the next cycle. Bach leg degree of freedom is actuated using a hy- draulic system. 2.2.3. Hydraulic system configuration ‘Two important considerations in the selection of an actuation system are the force to weight ratio and the speed of response. At the current level of technology, electric actuation systems have considerably less force to weight ratio as compared to hydraulic systems. Though this can be improved by the use of a high ratio gear train, the large reflected inertia of the motor and the compliance and backlash of the gear train ad- versely affect dynamic response. These considera- tions resulted in the choice of hydraulic systems to actuate the legs of the vehicle. The hydraulic power transmission system used has two stages in which the power stage is hydrostatic (Fig. 5). That is, each actuator is coupled in a closed circuit with a variable displacement pump. The power to drive the pumps is taken off the quill shafts using toothed belts. Experimental studies of similar system configurations, and several valve controlled configurations, were conducted before settling on this design [5,6,7,8]. The principle design issue is the power consumed during a step. The leg actuators, particularly the lift and drive actuators, see very different load and rate con tions at different times in the cycle. For example, the lift actuator is in a high-load, low-rate condi- tion when the foot is on the ground. When the foot is being returned, this actuator is in a high- rate, low-load condition. A conventional pres- sure-regulated, valve-controlled system operates efficiently in a high-load, low-rate condition, Such a system would result in large power losses during the return part of the leg cycle. The hydrostatic system configuration avoids these losses since flow is controlled directly by pump displacement and the pressure adjusts passively to meet the exact requirements to support the load. The dynamic supply impedance is low because of the flywheel. Regenerative braking, replacing energy in the flywheel, is also possible with this system. The variable displacement pumps require substantial torques to position their swashplate shafts. For this reason, a primary stage hydraulic system is used to drive small rotary actuators coupled to the swashplate shafts, A single, pressure regu- lated pump is used to drive this system with the actuators being controlled by servovalves. The valve-swashplate servo loops are analog. The re- mainder of the control system is digital. 3. Modeling 3.1. Leg systems The dynamics of the four-link leg (Fig. 4) has been modeled using the Lagrange energy formu- lation resulting in the equations shown below. Fo=ay(x, z)¥+a3(x, 2)2 +a54(x, 2)4? Fay (x, 2) 48 +5127 + dei(x, 2), 12%, Z)¥ +ay(x, 2) 2 + a(x, 2)%? Fag(X, 2)8 +52? +ag(x, 2). (1) The coefficients a,,(x, z) are nonlinear functions of the leg link parameters. The dynamics of the lateral (y) degree of freedom, being considerably less significant when walking along a straight path, has not been included in the model. The two-stage hydraulic leg actuation system is mod- eled using the continuity and force equations The variable displacement pump is modeled as a pure gain element between swashplate angle & and volume flow rate 4 as q(t) = Ky, 0,060), where Kp, is the specific pump gain and o, is the pump shaft speed. Flow balance for the main (x) actuator yields q(t) = A,4(¢) + (V(x)/B)p{t) + C, p(t), where A, is the cross- sectional area of the actuator, is the actuator rate, V(x) is the active entrapped volume, is the Bulk modulus, and p, is the pressure differ- ence across the actuator. Finally, the force equa- tion is obtained for the main (x) direction as F,,(t) = A,p,{t) ~ b, x(t) — F,, where F,, is the force on the leg joint along the x-direction, b, is the coefficient of viscous friction and F, is the Coulomb friction in the actuator. A switch mode of control is used with position and velocity being controlled when the leg is in the air and forcePower system of multi-legged robot 155 pump Qt.05 OP =Po-Pr Fig. 6, Pump-shaft interface shaft Pr (actuator differential pressure) being controlled when it is on the ground [9]. 3.2, Mechanical transmission The shafts in the mechanical transmission s tem are discretized using the following criterion for lump length: 1 < ¥G/p /(0figax) WhETE fipax is the maximum frequency of interest, G is the shear modulus of the shaft material, and p is its density. fina. is selected as 200 Hz, Toothed belts are used to transmit power between the flywheel shaft and the quill shafts and between the quill shafts and the pump shafts. Belt stiffness has been determined experimentally. Transverse belt vibrations have been neglected. Mechanical en- ergy is transmitted to the legs where it is con- verted to hydraulic energy to actuate the legs. ‘The model for the interface between the mechan- ical and the hydraulic transmission system shown in Fig. 6. In the hydrostatic pump con- trolled actuation scheme, the swashplate angle ¢ of the variable displacement pump is the con- trolled variable. The torque T needed to drive the pump is given by the specific pump displace- ment K,,, and the pressure difference Ap across the pump as T(t) =D,Ap(t) + Ty Kym@p(t)O(1)] Ap(t) + T,, @ where D, is the displacement of the pump and 7; is the Coulomb friction in the pump. T, is esti- mated experimentally using energy loss data, Since variation of the pump shaft speed is small, viscous friction is not considered separately. A negative value for the torque T implies that the pump reverts energy back to the transmission system. This torque T is provided by an elaborate mechanical transmission system which intercon- neets all the eighteen leg actuation pumps in the system. A sixteen degree of freedom torsional model of the transmission system is developed using the lumped parameter scheme (Fig. 3). The torque inputs to the model are from the engine, T, and from the pumps at the six leg locations. The pump torques can be related to the forces on the legs using the kinematic relations for the panto- graph. A general inertia element J, in the tor- sional system is depicted in Fig. 7 showing the constraint forces acting on it. The equation of Fig. 7. Schematic of a general torsional inertia element in the drive train model156 motion for the ith element can be shown to be JG, + i108) ~ Boa) + Kien (8, * Bo) +b ,,-(6,— 6-1) + Pisei( 6+ G41) + Kamti( 18; ~PeOc) * Ppmti(ri6, ~ 124) ++ kesit(718,—0,) + Baits 7,6) = Kym L (4:47; — LT @) SS. Nair et al where 6, is the angular displacement of J, i, is the torsional stiffness of the shaft segment con- necting J, to Jj, b,, is the coefficient of viscous damping of the shaft segment, kp, is the stiff- ness of the belt m connected 10 Jj, bpp its coefficient of viscous damping, r, is the diameter of the pulley at station i, r, is the diameter of the pulley at station x. The terms on the right-hand side represent the torques due to the actuation Define system and model parameters. vehicle velocity and gait ‘compute commanded forces. land velocities for all six legs (Force distribution.gait rules) ere te information LEG MODULES (six) ¥v ‘compute the torques: to the mechanical transmission applied (interface) ~ y orp ee eames speode atthe various locations [ag | compute engine toraue vehicle accessories J] een anemission dynamics) (engine & controler) store data - Yes ‘stop Fig. 8. Flow chart of the simulationPower system of mult-legged robot 17 Table 1 ‘Transmission system parameters ‘Component ‘Quill shafts @) Description “Material 4150 steel, length = 1.57 m (62 in) Belts ‘S10H1300, 3”; stiffness per unit length = 4650 N/m (266063 Ibf/in) Flywheel Inertia = 2.12 N-m-s? (4946 tbf-in-s?) Coupling between flywheel yy = 58190 N-m/rad and drive train (515000 Ibf-in/rad) Variable displacement Main and lift pumps 1,83 E-3 m*/s @ 21 MPa (29 gpm @ 3000 psi) Lateral: 1.07 m’/s@ 21 MPa 7 gpm) 3.15 E-4 m*/s @ 21 MPa (5 gpm) Dy = 14.75 E-6 m /rad (039 in} /rad) Servovalve Rotary actuator *Damping coefficients for the belts 876 N-s/m (5.0 Ibe /in) * Friction torques in the pumps, 7, 3.4 Nem (300 Ibf-in) systems described earlier. The equations for the 16 degree of freedom torsional system can be written in matrix form as J6+B6+K0=T, (4) where @=(6,, 65,...,0;6]" and J, B, and K are the system mass, stiffness and damping matrices, each of dimension 16x16 and T is the force vector (16x 1). J’ is diagonal with entries J,, i=1, 6. The stiffness matrix K is symmetric and essentially tridiagonal. The significant parameter values are listed in Table 1. 3.3. Engine and its controller The engine is modeled as a torque source with time constant + and dead time T,>, with throttle position as input. The engine controller is de- signed to maintain the flywheel speed constant according to Too(8) = [Ke Jive + KK 1/3](@ca(8) ~ @4(8)) —Kyw.(5), (3) where T,, is the command engine torque, Jive is the reflected inertia of the flywheel at the engine shaft, and K,, K, are the controller gains. This gives T.(s) = T_.(8) expl—Tps]/(7s + 1) where 7,6) is the actual engine torque. + and Ty are selected as 1.0 s and 0.1 s respectively. 3.4. Overall model and inputs The modules obtained using the modeling techniques were appropriately cascaded to get a digital simulation of the entire power system (Fig, 8). The inputs to the simulation include the vehi- cle velocity vy, gait parameters including the duty factor Bj, desired foot trajectory, the set point for flywheel speed, wa,, the interaction forces between the leg and the ground, F,, and F,;, andthe engine torque, 7,. The leg cycle frequency f, is related to the vehicle velocity vy, and leg stroke R as f, = UyB4/R. The legs bear part of the vehicle weight and also propel it forward. The propulsive force which each leg supplies is dependent on the gait and the vehicle acceleration, ay. The algorithm that allocates forces between the legs determines the com- manded values of F,, and F,, [11]. The set point for flywheel speed w,,, is taken as 7500 rpm for all the simulation cases. In Fig. 3, J, is the reflected inertia of the flywheel on the main shaft (1-2). The gears used between the flywheel shaft and the main shaft results in 6, = 6,,/3. 3.5. Test conditions and experiments ‘The vehicle is designed to operate in six stati- cally stable modes. This requires a minimum of three feet to be on the ground at all times. The | model developed is used to simulate some of the vehicle maneuvers and study their effect on the power system. A leg, identical to the ones on the vehicle, mounted separately on a test stand, is used to study its dynamics and control, This system is used to get experimental data related to the leg, while the shaft torque data is taken from the vehicle directly. The torque data has been obtained for two of the maneuvers using a strain gage set-up where the strain signal is taken out from the shaft section 5-6 using slip rings, amplified, taken over lead wires, and then sampled and recorded. For the leg system experiments reported, the foot is commanded along a two-dimensional tra- jectory similar to the one specified during normal158 SS. Nair etal walking. Experimental torque data is obtained from the vehicle for the two cases listed below. (a) Standing on six legs: The vehicle is assumed to be stationary with all of its systems opera- tional. In this maneuver the loads on the drive train are due to the upward forces on each leg, Fy =O and F,,= Wy/6 for to 6, where Wy is the weight of the vehicle and F,, and F,, are the foot forces in the main and lift direction for leg i respectively. The engine is switched off after spinning the flywheel up to the desired speed. In this case, the flywheel spin down rate represents the system energy consumption rate, P = Jouipuiiy, Where yy and a, are the angular velocity and acceleration of the flywheel respec- tively. The total power consumption data can thus be recorded experimentally by monitoring the flywheel speed. Energy is consumed to oper- ate all the vehicle systems and to provide for the leakage losses in the pumps. The other simula- tion inputs are constant leg positions and zero leg velocities, (b) Tripod gait: The Tripod gait is used by the vehicle in the cruise mode of operation. In this mode, three feet are on the ground at any given instant - the front and rear legs of one side and the middle leg of the other side, forming a ‘tri- pod’ (either legs 1, 4, 5 or 2, 3, 6). The middle legs bear approximately half the weight of the vehicle during parts of the leg cycle [12]. In one set of simulation runs, it is assumed that the vehicle has attained constant velocity and thus F,,= 0 for all i. Since the resistance forces oppos- ig forward motion are negligible, this assump- tion is justified. ‘The maneuver of obstacle crossing can also be studied using the simulation. In this maneuver the gait used is called Follow-the-Leader (FTL), in which the rear legs step in the footprints of the front ones, the positioning of the latter being controlled by the operator. The power consump tion in this maneuver is dependent on the speed of operation. Currently the maneuver is per- formed at slow speeds with low power demands. 3.6. Load characteristics The active suspension system of the vehicle results in energy losses even in the presence of gravitational and constant loads. Variation in ter- rain results in additional loads, Similarly, leg im- pacts with the terrain cause large impact loads. An expression for the load torque is T,,(1)+ 7,0), where T,, is the torque needed to power the vehicle systems and 7, is the torque due to the leg loads. For a given flywheel operating speed, the torque needed to power the various vehicle systems is approximately constant. T,, is estimated as described below. For the general case where each foot carries a load F,, in the vertical direction and F,, in the horizontal direc- tion, energy considerations yield, fone , (2) Tal) Bed * loa ; ; * (a? | +("?) Pr “oo } © where vy is the body velocity of the vehicle, w, is the angular speed of the main shaft (section 1-3 in Fig. 3), C, is the leakage coefficient of the pump and linear actuator combined, A, and A, are the main and lift actuator areas, and P,, is the power lost in the actuators and pumps due to friction, for leg i. In Eq. (6), the first term is due to the power converted to vehicle potential and kinetic energy and the second term is due to the pump and actuator leakage power losses. Using these equations, estimates of the load torque for three special cases of practical interest are given below. (Case A) Weight carried by n legs: The vehicle weight is assumed to be carried by n legs. During some maneuvers, depending on the location of the centre of gravity, a subset of the legs on the ground may carry most of the weight of the vehicle. The entries n=2 and n=1 represent such cases. We assume that for the swing phase legs, F,()=F,(t)=0. We then have, F,(1)= Wy/n, F,(t)=0 if leg i is in support phase and F,(t) = F_{t) = 0, if leg i is in the transfer phase. (Case B) Tripod gait on an incline at angle 4 and acceleration ay: Load fluctuations due to the particular gait used can be estimated by deter- mining the leg loads. The largest fluctuations arePower system of mult-legged robot 159 seen when the vehicle is in tripod gait, with three legs on the ground at any instant. If the vehicle is walking uphill on an incline of angle w, T,,(0) is n by Eq. (7), owe 1, (1+A3) 2Wat [2 pay) 5 T(t) Se (olf " Iyhighsd | had 4 fitaid , hid? as 2S? hyvy + P, t +e ostct; my fe War 7sc0s( 1) rel « sncuy) a AL Le ie st} 0 where R and S are the leg stroke and leg pitch for the vehicle and 1, is the cycle time. If the vehicle is walking over level terrain (y= 0) at constant velocity vy,.the load torque expression reduces to 2C,Ww? t (Case C) Leg impacts: Interaction of the legs with the terrain can result in large loads on the legs for short-time intervals due to uncertainty in ter- rain location and leg velocity. This results in pressure overshoots in the leg actuation systems. Estimates of the torque fluctuations for all three cases are shown in Table 2. Considerable varia- tion can be seen in the load torque for the prototype vehicle maneuvers. (8) <7 4, Results from the models 4.1. Leg system In each leg system, the leg is essentially per- ceived as a position-dependent inertia by the actuation systems along the three degrees of free- dom. The coupling between the three hydraulic systems corresponding to the leg degrees of free- Table 2 Load estimates for three cases ( Variation of load torque with the number of load Carrying legs TbFin 6 5353) 5 5480 4 55 5819 3 675 ou 1 9.85 11129 (B) Variation in tripod gait, R= 1.22 m (48 in), $= 152 m (60 in) (@) ay =0, p= 0 deg. (Ty max = 103 N-m (910 lbf-in), (TDmig = 92 Nem (810 Ibn) (b) ay ~ 0.25 gu =0 deg (Ty nau = 127 Nem (1120 Ibf-in}; (Tain = 110 Nem (970 Ib6in) (© Variation due to uncertainity in terrain location = avershoots in 7, of upto 7.90 N-m (70 Ibf-in) for $0% overshoots in p, dom is weak at the leg cycling frequencies, which are less than 2 Hz, A numerical simulation of the leg system including the leg dynamics compares very well with measured results for trajectory tracking maneuvers. The state vector for each actuation system comprises of the displacement and velocity of the actuators and the pressure difference across the actuators: (x, %, p,,}" and {z, 2, p,,)". Position and velocity transducers and differential pressure transducers are used to mea- sure the signals, The control strategy is essentially linear state feedback with inverse plant feedfor- ward terms. The digital control algorithm is im- plemented using an Intel 86/30 Single Board Computer which interfaces with the operator through a VTI01 terminal. Only the transfer phase trajectory is consid- ered, since, in the support phase, the legs are used as sources of force with leg motion being passively controlled by the body. Fig. 9 shows the profile for the main actuator displacement x¢ and the lift actuator displacement z, for a typical walking cycle. It should be noted that the dis- placement of the foot is given by x,(1) = y,x¢(t) and zp=y,2,(0), Where y, is the magnification factor in the x-direction and y, is the z-direction. The leg is in transfer phase when it traverses160 $s £ = 308 i exgermerat S. Sihinion Fas : i Ban i § 406 : 12 40 1 7 027 8 Main actuior displacement, (mx 102) Fig. 9. Comparison of experimental and simulation actua- tor displacement histories for f,=03 Hz, Ry=54 ft, ty = 17 ft/s. from 0 to f, seconds and in the support phase for the rest of the cycle. The discrepancy between the predicted and measured values is less than 3% for the displacement time history (Fig. 9). Nair etal The simulation also predicts the pressure and velocity histories well (Figs. 10-12). Various analytical models of the actuation sub- systems are developed which successfully predict the dynamic characteristics (Table 3). The con- troller system bandwidth is almost twice that of the hydrostatic system. The overall bandwidth of the actuation system is thus governed by the linear actuator. For the servovalve: K, is the flow gain, 7,, is the time constant, K,, is the hydraulic amplifier flow gain, k,, is the feedback wire stiff- ness, K,, is the stiffness of the armature /flapper, A, is the spool end area and K, is the position control gain. For the rotatory actuator: D, is the volumetric displacement, B is the Bulk modulus of oil, Js is the inertia of the pump swashplate and V,, the active entrapped volume. For the linear actuator, in the x-direction: A, is the cross sectional area, m,, is the reflected inertia of the leg, R, is the leg stroke, and V,, is the average entrapped volume. 0.30 a oas gon eg 6 pos 8 4 ono] a) & 0.05 ton -1635) Soo. gos Zasm 010 01s . jo os 10 1s 90 a5 3035 20.9, tone ‘time (6) 1378 1699 “B 10.004" E -16.89}: § ssa E-00 “2156 ‘000s 10s 30a “Maggs TTS dO sd tine) ‘ne ) Fig. 10. Comparison of experimental and simulation actuator velocity histories for f= 0.3 Hz, Ry = 5.4 ft, oy = 1.7 ft/s. Fig. 11. Comparison of experimental and simulation actuator pressure histories for {C= 0.3 Ha, R= 5.4 ft, vy =1.7 ft/s.Power system of mult-legged robot 161 Table 3 Actuation system bandwidths System T. COMPONENTS. (1) Controller system (@ Servovalve * eye MkgAy) 135 150 (©) Rotary actuator and load Vor) a - (© Combined VK.Kq/GwD,) 60 45410 (2) Hydrostatic system (@) Variable displacement pump - 0 (©) Linear actuator and load (2B%.4, (mR) 20 - 1M. Overat system _ [BAR Am AAR, /10+¥,,)) 18 isd © Calculated at the 90 degree phase lag point; measured value from produet specs. 4.2. Natural frequencies of the drive train system The mechanical transmission system networks all of the six legs and connects them to the power plant. It is important that its natural frequencies be sufficiently away from the possible excitation frequencies in the system. Eigen analysis of the sixteen degree of freedom model shown in Fig. 3 yields the first five natural frequencies as 0, 50, 55, 64, and 119 Hz. The effect of system parame- ters on the natural frequencies of the system can be investigated using this model. For instance, in the initial design the member k,, was a rubber coupling of stiffness 4,180 N-m/rad (37,000 Ibf- in/rad). Excessive vibrations in the transmission system were observed during the prototype test- ing stage - its cause was not well understood. The simulation predicted the first natural fre~ quency to be 27 Hz. Since this was close to the frequencies excited by the hydrostatic actuation systems, it was decided to use a stiffer coupling of stiffness 58,190 N-m/rad (515,000 Ibf-in/rad). Consequently, the natural frequency doubled to about 50 Hz, which reduced the vibrations dra- matically. In comparison, the first torsional natural fre- quency is about 4 Hz for an automotive drive train system in the lowest gear and for a typical marine drive system [13]. A gas turbine powered helicopter drive system typically has its first natu- ral frequency at about 7 Hz [14]. For walking vehicle applications, the first natural frequency has to be much higher since the walking maneu- ver introduces low frequency torque disturbances in the system. Currently, the leg cycle frequency f, is less than 2 Hz at the maximum vehicle speed ‘and so the frequencies excited by the eighteen actuation systems are lower than the drive train resonances, after the modification in k 2. 4.3. Comparison of experimental and simulation torque results The spindown rate of the flywheel, which is proportional to the rate of power drain, has been obtained experimentally with the vehicle standing up on 6 legs. Also, torque in the shaft section between stations 5 and 6 is estimated using strain gages when the vehicle is moving in tripod gait. Fig. 12a shows that the spin down rate of the flywheel is predicted well by the simulation when the vehicle is standing on six legs. The simulation predictions and the experimentally measured torques are shown in Fig. 12b. Since the strain ‘gage signal is small, noise entrainment due to the slip rings is considerable. The data has been recorded at a frequency of 500 Hz and the noise, which is at the shaft rotation frequency of 35 Hz.,162 SS. Nair etal has been removed by filtering it out in software using two identical second order filters with cut- off frequency of 15 Hz and damping ratio of 0.7. Consequently, the experimental data does not show the high frequency components of the re- sponse. In the simulation plot, on the other hand, the drivetrain resonance at about 55 Hz and that of the hydrostatic system at about 16 Hz are present; this data is also presented after process- ing by the same filter, for comparison. The simu- lation can also be used to study the torque and speed histories at various locations along the drive train, for sizing purposes [9]. 4.4. Energy audit The main energy dissipation mechanisms in the system are shown in Table 4. Analytical mod- els, not reported here, predicted the losses accu- rately in most of the cases [9]. The flywheel losses “ a s —sveineent 3 ‘Stuiadon = 20 3 Jw 20 os 10 «1s eas sive @® 565 Suns 3 ; po Pyne sas | Y me Fig. 12, Comparison of the experimental and simulation re sults: (a) Flywheel spin down rates when standing on six legs; (©) Torque in section 5-6 for tripod gait with uyy = 1.7 f/s, ay=0. Table 4 Energy audit for the vehicle Souree ‘Amount ® Percentage KW(HP) of total Spin losses in the Mipwheet 20 10 Controller system losses 6@) 16 Pump friction losses (18 pumps) 1418) 36 Engine blower power consumption 23) 6 Alternator power consumption 5 (7) 12 Leakage losses in the pumps variable 5 Mave. 14 (avg) Others 40 6 Dey 7 Estimated using experiments and product specifications, are approximately proportional to the square of its speed. The controller system loss is propor- tional to the operating pump pressure and is considered constant. The energy efficiency of the pumps is approximately 90%, for the actuators it is about 85% and the belt transmission efficiency is taken as 95%. Flow leakage loss in the pumps is dependent on the vehicle maneuver and is given as: leakage flow rate =C,Ap, where C, is the coefficient of leakage, and Ap is the pressure difference across the pump. The leakage power loss is then estimated as C4p). Due to this quadratic variation of leakage losses with Ap, lower operating pressure reduce such losses sub- stantially. Strategies to minimize the maximum pressure in the leg pumps for some gaits are being implemented on the prototype vehicle to alleviate this problem. Leakage should thus be reduced significantly to operate at higher pr sures. While pump leakage increases system en- ergy losses, it is beneficial as far as control is concerned, since it provides damping to the highly underdamped hydrostatic leg actuator system. Using the simulation, the maneuver of walking up a 60% grade at a constant velocity is found to be the most critical, in terms of power consumption. It should be noted that power consumption in any maneuver depends on the speed of opera- tion. For instance, obstacle crossing would be expensive in power demand, if done fast. 5. Discussion ‘The power system of a rough terrain six legged walking vehicle has been studied. Actuation ofPower system of mult-legged robot 163 the legs is of a ‘distributed’ type, in that an independent system actuates each leg degree of freedom. The mechanical transmission system connects the actuation systems into an elaborate network. The complexity in such systems stems, not from a lack of understanding of the individual component characteristics, but from their inter- connection within the system, resulting in overall features that are not easily predictable. The digital system simulation serves as a test bed for various studies including leg control algo- rithm development and optimization of the 3 tem design, that is, sizing of the flywheel, shaft: belts, and other system components. The predic- tions from the models have been used to improve the vehicle performance considerably, and have also resulted in a better understanding of the system integration features. The impedance char- acteristics of the power plant along with the en- ergy storage requirement determine optimal fly- wheel size. For instance the simulation shows that slow walking over level terrain requires a much smaller flywheel. It has been seen on test- ing, that a flywheel, smaller in size by a factor of 45, performs such maneuvers satisfactorily but results in engine stall for more demanding ma- neuvers. The simulation is also being used to study a similar system design for a much faster four legged running machine. One of the important features of the ASV power system is that it can operate at a high efficiency over the wide range of power levels needed to operate a walking vehicle. This is made possible by the hydrostatic pump-controlled actu- ation systems and the regenerative braking capa- bility due to the flywheel. Another feature is the high torsional stiffness of the drive train so that its resonances are well above the frequencies that can be excited by the actuation systems. The leg design and its actuation scheme simplifies control considerably. Though this study deals to a large extent with a particular legged vehicle, the con- cepts and techniques developed can be general- ized to other legged systems. Many of the systems studied have potential applications in the field of robotics. Acknowledgements The assistance provided by Dennis R. Pugh, Larry Fisher and others of Adaptive Machine Technologies, Inc. is appreciated. This work was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under contract DAAE07-K- R001. References [1] KJ. Waldron and RB. McGhee, Adaptive Suspension Vehicle, IEEE Control Systems Magazine (Dec. 1986) 712, (2) CA. Klein, K.W, Olson and D.R. Pugh, Use of force and attitude sensors for locomotion of a legged vehicle over irregular terrain, International Journal of Robotics Re- search 1(1) (1983) 3-17. [3] D. Orin, Supervisory control of a multi-lesged robot, Iniernational Journal of Robotics Research 1(1) (1982) 79-91. [4] SM. Song and KJ. Waldron, Geometric design of a ‘walking machine for optimal stability, ASME Transac- tions, Journal of Mechanisms, Transmissions, and Au- tomation in Design 109 (1987) 21-28, {5} K. Srinivasan, M. Holloway and KJ. Waldron, Control of ‘hydraulically powered walking machine leg, First Fluid Power National Education Seminar (Aug, 1984) 115-134 [6] A. Pery, J.Y. Gardner and K.J. Waldron, Synthesis, anal= ysis and design of @ hydraulic actuation system for a ‘sixclegged walking machine, American Control Confer- ence, Vol. 2, Boston, MA (June 1988) 730-736. (7) A. Dworak, K. Srinivasan and KJ. Waldron, Digital ‘control of a hydraulic circuit for a walking vehicle, ASME Paper No. 86-WA / DSC-7, ASME Winter Annual Meeting, Anaheim, CA (Dec. 1986), [s} LLY. Lai, $8. Nair, R. Singh and K.J. Waldron, Dynamic simulation and control of walking machine leg,, ASME Winter Annual Meeting, Boston, MA (Dec. 1987), Special Publication Bk. No. GO083, 117-126, [9] SS. Nair, Power system modeling for a six legged walking ‘machine, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State University, ‘Columbus (1988). {10] S.S. Nair, Simulations of a complex robotic system, Sum ‘mer Computer Simulation Conference, Austin, TX (1989) 884889, [11] V. Kumar and KJ. Waldron, Force distribution in closed kinematic chains, IEEE Conference on Robotics and Ati ‘tomation, Philadelphia, PA (1988) 114-119. [12] MZ. Huang and KJ. Waldron, Relationship between payload and speed in legged locomotion, IEEE Interna fional Conference on Robotics and Automation. Vol. 1 Raleigh, NC, (1987) 533-538, [13] AP. Catchpole, S.P. Healy and D. Hodgetts, Torsional of, fa vehicle drive line, ASME Transactions, Journal of ‘Mechanical Design (Oct. 1978) 644-650. [14] MS. Darlow and J.M. Vance, Torsional stability analysis ‘of a gas-turbine powered helicopter drive system, ASME ‘Transactions, Journal of Engineering for Power (Oct. 1974) 335-341,