Özer Koca

SURALP: A new full-body humanoid robot platform

SURALP is a new walking humanoid robot platform designed at Sabanci University - Turkey. The kinematic arrangement of the robot consists of 29 independently driven axes, including legs, arms, waist and a neck. This paper presents the highlights of the design of this robot and experimental walking results. Mechanical design, actuation mechanisms, sensors, the control hardware and algorithms are introduced. The actuation is based on DC motors, belt and pulley systems and Harmonic Drive reduction gears. The sensory equipment consists of joint encoders, force/torque sensors, inertial measurement systems and cameras. The control hardware is based on a dSpace digital signal processor. A smooth walking trajectory is generated. A variety of controllers for landing impact reduction, body inclination and Zero Moment Point (ZMP) regulation, early landing trajectory modification, and foot-ground orientation compliance and independent joint position controllers are employed. A posture zeroing procedure is followed after manual zeroing of the robot joints. The experimental results indicate that the control algorithms presented are successful in improving the stability of the walk.

Trajectory generation with natural ZMP references for the biped walking robot SURALP

Bipedal locomotion has good obstacle avoidance properties. A robot with human appearance has advantages in human-robot communication. However, walking control is difficult due to the complex robot dynamics involved.

Walking Control of a Biped Robot on an Inclined Plane

The human structure is suitable for an assistive robot in the human environment. However, the bipedal walk is a challenging problem. Walking on flat and even floor conditions is not satisfactory for the applicability of a humanoid robot. This paper presents an experimental study on bipedal walk on inclined plane. The 29-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) biped robot SURALP is used in the experiments. A variety of controllers for landing impact reduction, body inclination and Zero Moment Point (ZMP) regulation, early landing trajectory modification, and foot–ground orientation compliance are employed. A posture zeroing procedure is followed after manual zeroing of the robot joints. Experiments are carried out on even floor and inclined planes with different slopes. The experimental results indicate that the control algorithms presented are successful in improving the stability of the walk.

SURALP-L - The leg module of a new humanoid robot platform

SURALP is a new walking humanoid robot platform designed at Sabanci University - Turkey. When completed, the kinematic arrangement of the robot will consist of 30 independently driven axes, including legs, arms, waist and a neck. Up to now, the 12-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) leg module of the platform, SURALP-L, is built. This paper presents the highlights of the design of this leg module. Mechanical design, actuation mechanisms, sensors, the control hardware and algorithms are introduced. The actuation is based on DC motors, belt and pulley systems and harmonic drive reduction gears. The sensory equipment consists of joint encoders, force/torque sensors and inertial measurement systems. The control hardware is centered around a dSpace digital signal processor. A smooth walking trajectory is generated. A ground impact compensator, an early landing trajectory modification system, controllers for the foot and trunk orientation, and independent joint position controllers are implemented. Experimental walking results with the leg module are obtained too.