In this assignment, you are given a working dynamic simulation of a two-legged creature, a biped, and are asked to write a new controller this simulation. The biped is an imaginary character with rotary hips and telescoping joints. Thus, the biped can rotate a hip in a particular direction and extend/retract its lower leg in that direction. It uses these degrees of freedom to locomote on a flat ground plane (the xy plane). The simulation can be found in /net/hg27/animation/class/biped. There is a README file in this directory that gives a basic introduction to the simulation files, variables, etc.
Currently the simulation performs a hopping gait. Hopping is a gait where both legs move in unison. You should modify the existing controller so that the creature performs a running gait. Running uses the legs in alternation. Control for legged creatures was discussed in class and a paper on the subject was also handed out.
Once you have created your running controller, you should create an animation in which the biped navigates around an "interesting" world that you design. In order to create objects in the environment, you should modify mygraphics.C and position blocks in appropriate places using my_add_cube. Your creature should interact with these obstacles in appropriate ways (turning to avoid them, hopping over them, etc.). A slalom course is one possible approach to this section of the assignment. The biped should not run in a straight line for the entire animation.
You should capture images in the same way you did in assignment two (F3 to start and F4 to stop capturing images from within the Inventor window. NOTE: the renderer memory leak from the second assignment still exists, so be forewarned). The camera will automatically track the biped. Finally, you should describe your findings in a short report. Your report should include:
For this assignment you should follow the same turn-in procedure as for the second assignment. You should submit a pointer to your images, a copy of your documented code (follow the procedure below, for this), and a pointer to your report (or a hard copy if you prefer).
For the code submission follow this procedure:
Please be creative. This assignment is an open-ended one. The requirements are meant to exercise your technical and creative skills. If any of these requirements restrict your ideas, feel free to contact Jessica (jkh@cc) to discuss possible modifications to the assignment.