Biorobotics Laboratory Projects
Cornell University
Lab of Andy Ruina, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering
Robots
Cornell
Ranger robot: This robot has walked
9 km under its own power, without falling. This semester we will refine and
improve its hardware and controls. The robot requires some additional mechanical and electrical
modifications, and extensive control-software development, using C++. We are also working on software integration (MATLAB,
LabView) of measurement data and video records from robot tests, for rapid
development and problem diagnosis. With the software in place, we will be
walk-testing the robot and developing new, more power-efficient and robust walker
controllers.
Multi-processor
robot nervous system: Mammals have
developed sensorimotor controls in which a portion of the sensory processing
and motor control takes place below the level of the brain, in the spinal cord
or the extremities. For a control system with multitudes of sensors and actuators,
this results in lower bandwidth and transmission speed requirements. Complex
robots face a similar challenge, and we would like to develop a solution based
on similar ideas. It should be modular and highly power-efficient, suitable for
battery-powered robots with many sensors and controlled joints. Designs are in progress for a network of miniature low-power ARM processor boards, linked
to each other and a central brain processor by a CAN network. Students would
work on sensor, motor control, and microcontroller circuit boards, develop
microcontroller software (C, C++), and conduct tests of the network and
individual boards.
Principles
of robot control: What are the
available techniques for reliable control of complex robotic systems? What can
be done to alleviate the disturbances resulting from noisy sensor data and
variations in operating environment?
Autonomous
one-leg robot hopper: In the 1980s,
Marc Raibert and associates at the MIT Leg Laboratory developed a tethered but
self-balancing 3D one-leg hopping robot. For the current project, students
would simulate the hopper dynamics, then determine feasibility, design, and
build an autonomous (untethered) robot, using modern sensors and actuators.
RC Biped
robot: Hobbyists worldwide are
programming simple, low-cost biped robots with joints driven by RC
(radio-control) servo motors, and achieving a variety of impressive motions and
behaviors. How well can our RC robot be made to walk, or perform other related
behaviors? This needs some mechanical design and electronics, but mostly mechanical
analysis/simulation and C (or potentially C++) programming.
Steinkamp
hopper simulation: The motion of
Steinkamp's new hopping toy is both remarkable and improbable - how does it do
that? Develop a computer simulation of this device.
Biomechanics
Muscle
performance laws: For an individual
muscle, what is the relationship between force, speed, perceived effort, and
energy expenditure? This could involve computer modeling, muscle physiology,
test fixture construction, and human subject testing.
Rowing
simulator: Build and test a machine
for on-land crew training that better simulates on-water rowing than any
ergometer now available.
Constrained
pedaling: If cyclists’ legs and feet
are constrained to follow a predetermined path during pedaling, will their
power output or efficiency be improved? Student(s) would perform computer
modeling, construction of an experimental stationary bicycle, power and VO2
testing.
Rowing
simulation: Analyze the biomechanics
of rowing with computer models.
Bicycle
inertia and power output: Does the
smoother pedaling motion of a bicycle moving quickly in high gear permit higher
power output? Build an experimental stationary bicycle, and then work with
human subjects to measure power.
Human power
record: Can we set a new world
record in short-term human power output, using a machine that draws efficiently
on most of the major muscles of the body? This would involve mechanical design,
sensors, controls, and human-subject testing.
Running backwards: Could
people run faster backwards than they can forwards
under low gravity? Some theory points that way. This project would involve
simple biomechanics experiments.
Motion
capture: The Cornell gait lab has extensive
facilities for gait analysis and motion capture. Learn to use this technology
to analyze robot and human locomotion.
Other
Sailing
downwind: How can you sail downwind
faster than the wind speed? Search the literature, explore the theory, and
perhaps build a model. The semester report will be an article submitted for publication.
Sucking
chain: If you drop an apple and a
vertical chain simultaneously, from a position with the apple level with the
top link of the chain, the top link of the chain can hit the floor first. How
does this work? Construct models (computer and physical). Demonstrate and publish
the results.
Or additional projects