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Autonomous Stairwell Ascent

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2019

B. Deniz Ilhan,
Aaron M. Johnson and
D. E. Koditschek
B. Deniz Ilhan*
Affiliation:
Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. E-mail: kod@seas.upenn.edu
Aaron M. Johnson
Affiliation:
Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. E-mail: amj1@cmu.edu
D. E. Koditschek
Affiliation:
Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. E-mail: kod@seas.upenn.edu
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: bdeniz@seas.upenn.edu
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Summary

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This paper documents autonomous multi-floor stairwell ascent by a legged robot. This is made possible through empirically deployed sequential composition of several reactive controllers, with perceptually triggered transitions. This composition relies on simplified assumptions regarding the robot’s sensory capabilities, its level of mobility, and the environment it operates in. The discrepancies between these assumptions and the physical reality are capably handled by the intrinsic motor competence of the robot. This behavior is implemented on the legged RHex platform and experiments spanning 10 different stairwells with various challenges are conducted.

Keywords

Autonomous robotStair climbingSequential compositionSelf-manipulation

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Robotica , Volume 38 , Issue 1 , January 2020, pp. 159 - 170
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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