Control Architecture for Humanoid with Real-Time Electro-Hydraulic Actuator

Due to their ability to operate effectively in a variety of environments, including unstructured terrains, humanoid robots have undergone significant advancement. The type of actuation employed for such robots is crucial to ensure the required force while respecting the volume constraints. In this context, a servo electro-hydraulic actuator, characterized by its force-to-weight and force-to-volume ratios, has been developed for humanoid robots. This actuator is distinguished by an integrated force compensation module, which enhances safety. Nevertheless, a stable control architecture that operates in real-time without system failure is still crucial for ensuring the robot's safety and stability. For the stability and safety of the humanoid, the key requirement of the control architecture is to ensure stable communication between the different components with high update rates while respecting time constraints. The contribution of this paper is a 20% enhancement of the update rate and 40% improvement of the master latency through an open-source, real-time, and distributed control architecture. The findings signify the potential of utilizing open-source software and EtherCAT fieldbus in the development of robot control architecture.