Safe Control for Soft-Rigid Robots with Self-Contact using Control Barrier Functions

Specifically, CBFs are maturity, there is a nascent trend towards soft-rigid hybrid well-suited for constraints characterized by a relative degree robot forms to allow both compliance for safe operation in of one concerning the system dynamics [12], [13]. The High uncertain environments and rigidity to allow load bearing Order CBF (HOCBF), as proposed in [14], is designed to capability [1]-[4]. Indeed, the majority of terrestrial life effectively handle constraints with arbitrarily high relative forms have some articulated rigid body structure that allows degrees, making it a versatile extension of the conventional self-support under gravity. Such robots may expand the range CBF framework. of potential behaviors of robots, but they also may instantiate For soft-rigid robots that experience self-contact, CBFs in new problems. In this work, we will look at a class of softrigid provide a natural mechanism to design controllers that can robots that frequently undergo rigid self contact and we gracefully regulate behavior near contact points (they have will seek to control these systems to gracefully deal with self previously been used for something similar with humanoids contact.