Jun Zeng

Xiangyu Wu, Jun Zeng, Andrea Tagliabue et al.

Limited flight distance and time is a common problem for multicopters. We propose a method for finding the optimal speed and sideslip angle of a multicopter flying a given path to achieve either the longest flight distance or time. Since flight speed and sideslip are often free variables in multicopter path planning, they can be changed without changing the mission. The proposed method is based on a novel multivariable extremum seeking controller with adaptive step size, which is inspired by recent work from the machine learning community on stochastic optimization. Our method (a) does not require a power consumption model of the vehicle, (b) is computationally efficient and runs on low-cost embedded computers in real-time, and (c) converges faster than the standard extremum seeking controller with constant step size. We prove the stability of this approach and validate it through outdoor experiments. The method is shown to converge with different payloads and in the presence of wind. Compared to flying at the maximum achievable speed in the experiments with a uniformly selected random sideslip angle, flying at the optimal range speed and sideslip on average increases the flight range by 14.3% without payload and 19.4% with a box payload. In addition, compared to hovering, flying at the optimal endurance speed and sideslip increases the flight time by 7.5% without payload and 14.4% with a box payload. A video can be found at https://youtu.be/aLds8LVfogk.

Jun Zeng, Zhongyu Li, Koushil Sreenath

Safety is one of the fundamental problems in robotics. Recently, one-step or multi-step optimal control problems for discrete-time nonlinear dynamical system were formulated to offer tracking stability using control Lyapunov functions (CLFs) while subject to input constraints as well as safety-critical constraints using control barrier functions (CBFs). The limitations of these existing approaches are mainly about feasibility and safety. In the existing approaches, the feasibility of the optimization and the system safety cannot be enhanced at the same time theoretically. In this paper, we propose two formulations that unifies CLFs and CBFs under the framework of nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC). In the proposed formulations, safety criteria is commonly formulated as CBF constraints and stability performance is ensured with either a terminal cost function or CLF constraints. Slack variables with relaxing technique are introduced on the CBF constraints to resolve the tradeoff between feasibility and safety so that they can be enhanced at the same. The advantages about feasibility and safety of proposed formulations compared with existing methods are analyzed theoretically and validated with numerical results.

Anxing Xiao, Wenzhe Tong, Lizhi Yang et al.

An autonomous robot that is able to physically guide humans through narrow and cluttered spaces could be a big boon to the visually-impaired. Most prior robotic guiding systems are based on wheeled platforms with large bases with actuated rigid guiding canes. The large bases and the actuated arms limit these prior approaches from operating in narrow and cluttered environments. We propose a method that introduces a quadrupedal robot with a leash to enable the robot-guiding human system to change its intrinsic dimension (by letting the leash go slack) in order to fit into narrow spaces. We propose a hybrid physical Human-Robot Interaction model that involves leash tension to describe the dynamical relationship in the robot-guiding human system. This hybrid model is utilized in a mixed-integer programming problem to develop a reactive planner that is able to utilize slack-taut switching to guide a blind-folded person to safely travel in a confined space. The proposed leash-guided robot framework is deployed on a Mini Cheetah quadrupedal robot and validated in experiments.

Chenyu Yang, Bike Zhang, Jun Zeng et al.

The feet of robots are typically used to design locomotion strategies, such as balancing, walking, and running. However, they also have great potential to perform manipulation tasks. In this paper, we propose a model predictive control (MPC) framework for a quadrupedal robot to dynamically balance on a ball and simultaneously manipulate it to follow various trajectories such as straight lines, sinusoids, circles and in-place turning. We numerically validate our controller on the Mini Cheetah robot using different gaits including trotting, bounding, and pronking on the ball.

Jun Zeng, Bike Zhang, Koushil Sreenath

The optimal performance of robotic systems is usually achieved near the limit of state and input bounds. Model predictive control (MPC) is a prevalent strategy to handle these operational constraints, however, safety still remains an open challenge for MPC as it needs to guarantee that the system stays within an invariant set. In order to obtain safe optimal performance in the context of set invariance, we present a safety-critical model predictive control strategy utilizing discrete-time control barrier functions (CBFs), which guarantees system safety and accomplishes optimal performance via model predictive control. We analyze the stability and the feasibility properties of our control design. We verify the properties of our method on a 2D double integrator model for obstacle avoidance. We also validate the algorithm numerically using a competitive car racing example, where the ego car is able to overtake other racing cars.