I am writing to express my sincere appreciation for your outstanding work on the paper titled “An Open Torque-Controlled Modular Robot Architecture for Legged Locomotion Research.” Your initiative has not only provided invaluable resources to the robotics community but has also been a significant inspiration for my own research endeavors in this field. Your dedication to sharing knowledge and promoting open-source collaboration is truly commendable.
Having closely studied your paper and the accompanying GitHub repository, I have a few questions regarding certain aspects of your work that I hope you can clarify:
- Torque Constant and Motor Efficiency: You mentioned that the torque constant was determined using an experimental setup. However, I was unable to find a performance plot or the motor’s datasheet on the T-Motor website. Could you provide more details on how you determined the speed of the motor for completing the gait cycle? In typical designs, motors are chosen based on their efficiency, ensuring they operate within a range that minimizes heating and maximizes efficiency. How did you achieve this balance, especially considering that lower RPMs tend to cause higher torque and lower efficiency? Are there any specific calculations or methodologies you followed to maintain optimal motor performance?
- Torque Calculation and Motor Selection: On what basis did you perform the torque calculations, and how did you determine the required torque before selecting the motor and actuator? Is there any plot or calculation showing the current and voltage consumption for the robot, specifically for one leg during a trot or walk cycle? Additionally, could you provide more insights into your impedance control strategy and the principles behind your kinematics and dynamics calculations?