Achieving a target gait behavior in a legged robot

US10017218B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Boston Dynamics, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Benjamin Swilling · Waltham, US
• Eric Whitman · Waltham, US
• Stephen Berard · Waltham, US
• Alfred Anthony Rizzi · Cambridge, US
• Alex Khripin · Cambridge, US
• Gina Christine Fay · Waltham, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 27, 2016
• Grant date: Jul 10, 2018
• Expiry date: Oct 12, 2036

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y10S901/01
• WIPO field: Handling
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

A legged robot may seek to operate according to a target gait. The legged robot may include leg members and leg joints. Possibly based on the target gait and state of the legged robot, an ordered list of gait controllers may be obtained. The gait controllers in the ordered list may define respective gaits of the legged robot, and may include respective validity checks and output parameters for the respective gaits. The ordered list may begin with a target gait controller that defines the target gait. The ordered list may be traversed in order from the target gait controller until a validity check associated with a particular gait controller passes. The legged robot may be instructed to actuate the leg members and/or leg joints according to output parameters of the particular gait controller.