Dynaban, an open-source alternative firmware for Dynamixel servo-motors

Abstract

In this paper, we present an alternative open-source firmware for the Dynamixel MX-64 servo-motor. We discuss software features to fully exploit the hardware capabilities of the device. In order to enhance the default controller, a friction model and an electric model of the motor are embedded into the firmware. The parameters of the model are found using a black-box optimization algorithm. A feed-forward method is proposed to follow position, speed and torque trajectories. The approach is tested with a highly dynamic kick movement on our humanoid soccer robot Sigmaban whose torque trajectories are computed using a classic rigid body inverse dynamics. The comparison between the default control strategy and the proposed one shows significant improvements in terms of accuracy, delay and repeatability.