Robot with an inverse kinematics (IK)-based controller for retargeting input motions

A robot, comprising:

• a mechanical system with one or more movable bodies;
• and
• a controller generating control signals causing the mechanical system to move the one or more movable bodies,
• wherein the controller includes an inverse kinematics (IK) solver,
• wherein the controller generates the control signals by processing input motions with the IK solver by using inverse kinematics to retarget the input motions on the mechanical system,
• wherein the IK solver uses a center of mass (CoM) module defining a trajectory objective for the CoM of the mechanical system to follow while carrying out the retargeted input motions,
• wherein the IK solver solves the inverse kinematics by applying kinematic constraints to mechanical joints of the mechanical system to prevent disassembly of the mechanical system, and
• wherein the trajectory objective for the CoM of the mechanical system causes the CoM to project into a support for the mechanical system spanned by dynamically changing contact areas with the ground.

A robot, comprising:

• a kinematic structure with mechanical joints, bodies interconnected with the mechanical joints, and at least one actuator for imparting movements to the kinematic structure;
• and
• a controller generating control signals to operate the kinematic structure to selectively move the at least one movable body,
• wherein the controller includes an inverse kinematics (IK) solver,
• wherein the controller generates the control signals by processing input motions with the IK solver by solving inverse kinematics to retarget the input motions onto the kinematic structure,
• wherein the IK solver solves the inverse kinematics by applying kinematic constraints to at least one of the mechanical joints to prevent disassembly of the kinematic structure, and
• wherein the solving of the inverse kinematics is configured to prevent velocity singularities when the kinematic structure operates based on the control signals to move with the retargeted input motions.