Discovering Optimal Natural Gaits of Dissipative Systems via Virtual Energy Injection

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Griesbauer, Korbinian, Calzolari, Davide, Raff, Maximilian, Remy, C. David, Albu-Schäffer, Alin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Griesbauer, Korbinian
Calzolari, Davide
Raff, Maximilian
Remy, C. David
Albu-Schäffer, Alin
author_facet Griesbauer, Korbinian
Calzolari, Davide
Raff, Maximilian
Remy, C. David
Albu-Schäffer, Alin
contents Legged robots offer several advantages when navigating unstructured environments, but they often fall short of the efficiency achieved by wheeled robots. One promising strategy to improve their energy economy is to leverage their natural (unactuated) dynamics using elastic elements. This work explores that concept by designing energy-optimal control inputs through a unified, multi-stage framework. It starts with a novel energy injection technique to identify passive motion patterns by harnessing the system's natural dynamics. This enables the discovery of passive solutions even in systems with energy dissipation caused by factors such as friction or plastic collisions. Building on these passive solutions, we then employ a continuation approach to derive energy-optimal control inputs for the fully actuated, dissipative robotic system. The method is tested on simulated models to demonstrate its applicability in both single- and multi-legged robotic systems. This analysis provides valuable insights into the design and operation of elastic legged robots, offering pathways to improve their efficiency and adaptability by exploiting the natural system dynamics.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_15513
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Discovering Optimal Natural Gaits of Dissipative Systems via Virtual Energy Injection
Griesbauer, Korbinian
Calzolari, Davide
Raff, Maximilian
Remy, C. David
Albu-Schäffer, Alin
Robotics
Legged robots offer several advantages when navigating unstructured environments, but they often fall short of the efficiency achieved by wheeled robots. One promising strategy to improve their energy economy is to leverage their natural (unactuated) dynamics using elastic elements. This work explores that concept by designing energy-optimal control inputs through a unified, multi-stage framework. It starts with a novel energy injection technique to identify passive motion patterns by harnessing the system's natural dynamics. This enables the discovery of passive solutions even in systems with energy dissipation caused by factors such as friction or plastic collisions. Building on these passive solutions, we then employ a continuation approach to derive energy-optimal control inputs for the fully actuated, dissipative robotic system. The method is tested on simulated models to demonstrate its applicability in both single- and multi-legged robotic systems. This analysis provides valuable insights into the design and operation of elastic legged robots, offering pathways to improve their efficiency and adaptability by exploiting the natural system dynamics.
title Discovering Optimal Natural Gaits of Dissipative Systems via Virtual Energy Injection
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.15513