Master Projects - CoDesign

‭Advanced Co-Design Framework for Legged Robots‬
‭Interactive character creation in [2] and parametric design optimization in [1]‬
‭Introduction‬
‭ egged‬ ‭robots‬ ‭present‬ ‭unique‬ ‭challenges‬ ‭in‬ ‭design‬ ‭and‬ ‭control‬ ‭due‬ ‭to‬ ‭their‬ ‭complex‬
L
‭dynamics‬‭and‬‭the‬‭need‬‭for‬‭energy-efficient,‬‭agile‬‭locomotion.‬‭Some‬‭recent‬‭work‬‭proved‬
‭this‬ ‭approach‬ ‭viable‬ ‭for‬ ‭these‬ ‭systems‬ ‭[1-4].‬ ‭This‬ ‭proposal‬ ‭outlines‬ ‭an‬ ‭advanced‬
‭co-design‬ ‭framework‬ ‭that‬ ‭simultaneously‬ ‭optimizes‬ ‭the‬ ‭mechanical‬ ‭structure‬ ‭and‬
‭control strategies of legged robots, addressing key challenges in the field.‬
‭Objectives‬
‭1.‬ D ‭ evelop‬ ‭a‬ ‭versatile‬ ‭co-design‬ ‭framework‬‭that‬‭integrates‬‭mechanical‬‭design‬‭and‬
‭control optimization for legged robots.‬
‭2.‬ ‭Enhance‬ ‭the‬ ‭dynamic‬ ‭performance‬ ‭of‬ ‭legged‬ ‭robots‬ ‭through‬ ‭simultaneous‬
‭hardware and software optimization.‬
‭3.‬ ‭Improve‬ ‭the‬ ‭accessibility‬ ‭of‬ ‭legged‬ ‭robot‬‭design‬‭for‬‭users‬‭with‬‭varying‬‭levels‬‭of‬
‭expertise.‬
‭4.‬ ‭Bridge‬ ‭the‬ ‭gap‬ ‭between‬ ‭simulation‬ ‭and‬ ‭real-world‬ ‭performance‬ ‭in‬ ‭legged‬
‭robotics.‬
‭Key components‬
‭1. Optimization/Learning-based Approach‬
‭ he‬ ‭developed‬ ‭framework‬ ‭should‬ ‭achieve‬ ‭the‬ ‭selection‬ ‭of‬ ‭efficient‬ ‭and‬ ‭effective‬
T
‭designs for several robot motion tasks. The approach will:‬
‭●‬ O ‭ ptimize‬ ‭both‬ ‭the‬ ‭robot's‬ ‭mechanical‬ ‭structure‬ ‭and‬ ‭its‬ ‭dynamic‬ ‭maneuvers‬
‭concurrently.‬
‭●‬ ‭Possibly‬ ‭utilize‬ ‭gradient‬ ‭information‬ ‭and‬‭differentiable‬‭simulation‬‭[5]‬‭to‬‭improve‬
‭the‬ ‭convergence‬ ‭capability.‬ ‭Or‬ ‭alternative‬ ‭explore‬ ‭the‬ ‭power‬ ‭of‬ ‭reinforcement‬
‭learning for the generation of policies.‬
‭●‬ ‭Parallelizable simulation techniques to significantly speed up the design process.‬
‭●‬ ‭Efficient‬ ‭computation‬ ‭methods‬ ‭for‬ ‭necessary‬ ‭design‬ ‭changes‬ ‭to‬ ‭maintain‬ ‭an‬
‭interactive design flow.‬
‭●‬ ‭Adaptive‬ ‭Control‬‭Algorithms:‬‭Design‬‭control‬‭strategies‬‭that‬‭can‬‭adapt‬‭to‬‭varying‬
‭robot morphologies and environmental conditions.‬
‭2. Interactive Design Interface‬

‭ o‬ ‭make‬ ‭the‬ ‭co-design‬ ‭process‬ ‭more‬ ‭accessible,‬ ‭an‬ ‭interactive‬ ‭computational‬ ‭design‬
T
‭system could be employed:‬
‭●‬ A ‭ llows‬‭users‬‭to‬‭specify‬‭high-level‬‭descriptions‬‭of‬‭desired‬‭robot‬‭morphologies‬‭and‬
‭behaviors, such as in [7, 8].‬
‭●‬ ‭Allows the user to automatically generate motion plans, similarly to [6].‬
‭●‬ ‭Optimizing robot size, motion duration, and actuator selection.‬
‭●‬ ‭Provides real-time feedback on design feasibility and performance.‬
‭Validation and Testing‬

‭1.‬ S ‭ imulation‬ ‭Studies:‬ ‭Conduct‬ ‭extensive‬ ‭simulations‬ ‭to‬ ‭validate‬ ‭the‬ ‭co-design‬
‭framework across various legged robot configurations and tasks.‬
‭2.‬ ‭Hardware‬‭Prototyping:‬‭Develop‬‭physical‬‭prototypes‬‭of‬‭optimized‬‭designs‬‭to‬‭verify‬
‭real-world performance.‬
‭3.‬ ‭Sim-to-Real‬ ‭Transfer:‬ ‭Evaluate‬ ‭the‬ ‭transferability‬ ‭of‬ ‭optimized‬ ‭designs‬ ‭and‬
‭control policies from simulation to physical robots.‬
‭Expected Outcomes‬
‭1.‬ A ‭ ‬ ‭versatile‬ ‭co-design‬ ‭framework‬ ‭applicable‬ ‭to‬ ‭various‬ ‭legged‬ ‭robot‬ ‭types‬ ‭and‬
‭tasks.‬
‭2.‬ ‭Significant‬ ‭improvements‬ ‭in‬ ‭energy‬ ‭efficiency‬ ‭and‬ ‭dynamic‬ ‭performance‬ ‭of‬
‭legged robots.‬
‭3.‬ ‭Enhanced accessibility of legged robot design for non-expert users.‬
‭4.‬ B‭ etter‬ ‭understanding‬ ‭of‬ ‭the‬ ‭relationship‬ ‭between‬ ‭hardware‬ ‭design‬ ‭and‬ ‭robot‬
‭behavior.‬
‭ ontact Person‬‭:‬
C
‭Gabriele Fadini (‬‭[email protected]‬‭)‬
‭ eferences‬‭:‬
R
‭[1] “Co-designing versatile quadruped robots for dynamic and energy-efficient motions”,‬
‭G. Fadini et al., Robotica, 2024‬
‭[2]‬ ‭“Skaterbots:‬ ‭optimization-based‬ ‭design‬ ‭and‬ ‭motion‬ ‭synthesis‬ ‭for‬ ‭robotic‬ ‭creatures‬
‭with legs and wheels”. Moritz Geilinger et al., ACM Trans. Graph., 2018.‬
‭[3]‬ ‭“Computational‬ ‭design‬ ‭of‬ ‭robotic‬ ‭devices‬ ‭from‬ ‭high-level‬ ‭motion‬ ‭specifications”.‬
‭Sehoon Ha et al. IEEE Trans. Robotics 34.5, 2018‬
‭[4]‬ ‭“Control-aware‬ ‭design‬ ‭optimization‬ ‭for‬ ‭bioinspired‬ ‭quadruped‬ ‭robots”.‬ ‭De‬ ‭Vincenti‬
‭Flavio,‬ ‭Kang‬ ‭Dongho,‬ ‭and‬ ‭Coros‬ ‭Stelian.‬ ‭IEEE/RSJ‬ ‭International‬ ‭Conference‬ ‭on‬
‭Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2021.‬
‭[5]‬ ‭“ADD:‬ ‭Analytically‬ ‭differentiable‬ ‭dynamics‬ ‭for‬ ‭multi-body‬ ‭systems‬ ‭with‬ ‭frictional‬
‭contact”. Moritz Geilinger et al. ACM Trans. Graph. 39.6, 2020.‬
‭[6]‬ ‭“Predictive‬ ‭Sampling:‬ ‭Real-time‬ ‭Behaviour‬ ‭Synthesis‬ ‭with‬ ‭MuJoCo.”‬ ‭Taylor‬ ‭et‬ ‭al.‬
‭Howell.‬ ‭https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.00541‬‭, Dec 2022‬
‭[7]‬ ‭“Interactive‬ ‭design‬ ‭of‬ ‭animated‬ ‭plushies”.‬ ‭M.‬ ‭Bern‬ ‭James,‬ ‭Chang‬ ‭Kai-Hung,‬ ‭and‬
‭Stelian Coros. ACM Trans. Graph. 36.4, 2017.‬
‭[8]‬‭“Joint‬‭optimization‬‭of‬‭robot‬‭design‬‭and‬‭motion‬‭parameters‬‭using‬‭the‬‭implicit‬‭function‬
‭theorem”. Sehoon Ha et al. Robotics: Science and Systems XIII, 2017.‬
‭[9]‬‭“Chacra:‬‭An‬‭interactive‬‭design‬‭system‬‭for‬‭rapid‬‭character‬‭crafting”.‬‭Vittorio‬‭Megaro‬‭et‬
‭al.,‬ ‭The‬ ‭Eurographics‬ ‭/‬ ‭ACM‬ ‭SIGGRAPH‬ ‭Symposium‬ ‭on‬ ‭Computer‬ ‭Animation,‬ ‭SCA‬
‭2014, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2014.‬

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‭Advanced Co-Design Framework for Legged Robots‬

‭Interactive character creation in [2] and parametric design optimization in [1]‬

‭2. Interactive Design Interface‬

‭Validation and Testing‬

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