Natural dynamics modification for energy efficiency: A data-driven parallel compliance design method

We present a data-driven method for designing parallel compliance. Designing such compliance helps the system to improve energy efficiency, mainly by reducing negative work. The core idea is to design a controller first and then find springs working in parallel with each actuator such that force-displacement graph is lined up around displacement axis. By doing so, we simply shape the natural dynamics for performing the task efficiently. Maximum torque reduction for actuators is a byproduct of this design method. The method can be used in different cyclic robotic application, especially in legged locomotion systems. In this paper, we design a spinal compliance for a bounding quadruped robot in Webots. The results show that the power consumption and the maximum torque are reduced significantly.

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