Human-Like Gait Adaptation to Slippery Surfaces for the NAO Robot Wearing Instrumented Shoes

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (03) ◽  
pp. 2050007
Author(s):  
João P. Ferreira ◽  
Guilherme Franco ◽  
A. Paulo Coimbra ◽  
Manuel Crisóstomo

Gait development for bipedal/humanoid robots has been a field of study with a lot of attention for several years and is becoming increasingly important as robots slowly become part of our daily lives. Therefore, it is expectable that robots should adopt human-like behaviors in order to make their interactions with humans more natural and studies have been made involving robots that have a natural, human-like gait. However, very few focus on scenarios with slippery floors. In this paper, the humanoid robot NAO is used and the effects of a human-based walking pattern on the robot’s balance when walking on floors with different slipperiness degrees were analyzed. The simulations are done having the robot equipped with specially developed shoes that enable the measurement of the friction coefficient. From that analysis, an algorithm that automatically adapts the gait parameters to the floor’s slipperiness was developed, in order to prevent the robot from suffering unexpected disturbances and possibly falling over. This paper focusses on preventing balance disturbances, instead of correcting them.

Robotica ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 925-944 ◽  
Author(s):  
Majid Sadedel ◽  
Aghil Yousefi-Koma ◽  
Majid Khadiv ◽  
Faezeh Iranmanesh

SUMMARYIn this paper, a walking pattern optimization procedure is implemented to yield the optimal heel-strike and toe-off motions for different goal functions. To this end, first, a full dynamic model of a humanoid robot equipped with active toe joints is developed. This model consists of two parts: multi-body dynamics of the robot which is obtained by Lagrange and Kane methods and power transmission dynamic model which is developed using system identification approach. Then, a gait planning routine is presented and consistent parameters are specified. Several simulations and experimental tests are carried out on SURENA III humanoid robot which is designed and fabricated at the Center of Advanced Systems and Technologies located in the University of Tehran. Afterward, a genetic algorithm optimization is adopted to compute the optimal walking patterns for five different goal functions including energy consumption, stability margin, joint velocity, joint torque and required friction coefficient. Also, several parametric analyses are performed to characterize the effects of heel-strike and toe-off angle and toe link mass and length on these five goal functions. Finally, it is concluded that walking pattern without heel-strike and toe-off motions requires less friction coefficient than the pattern with heel-strike and toe-off motions. Also, heavier toe link lowers tip-over instability and slippage occurrence possibility, but requires more energy consumption and joint torque.


2004 ◽  
Vol 01 (02) ◽  
pp. 315-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
CYNTHIA BREAZEAL ◽  
ANDREW BROOKS ◽  
JESSE GRAY ◽  
GUY HOFFMAN ◽  
CORY KIDD ◽  
...  

This paper presents an overview of our work towards building socially intelligent, cooperative humanoid robots that can work and learn in partnership with people. People understand each other in social terms, allowing them to engage others in a variety of complex social interactions including communication, social learning, and cooperation. We present our theoretical framework that is a novel combination of Joint Intention Theory and Situated Learning Theory and demonstrate how this framework can be applied to develop our sociable humanoid robot, Leonardo. We demonstrate the robot's ability to learn quickly and effectively from natural human instruction using gesture and dialog, and then cooperate to perform a learned task jointly with a person. Such issues must be addressed to enable many new and exciting applications for robots that require them to play a long-term role in people's daily lives.


2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 599-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Thien Huan ◽  
Ho Pham Huy Anh

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to design a novel optimized biped robot gait generator which plays an important role in helping the robot to move forward stably. Based on a mathematical point of view, the gait design problem is investigated as a constrained optimum problem. Then the task to be solved is closely related to the evolutionary calculation technique. Design/methodology/approach Based on this fact, this paper proposes a new way to optimize the biped gait design for humanoid robots that allows stable stepping with preset foot-lifting magnitude. The newly proposed central force optimization (CFO) algorithm is used to optimize the biped gait parameters to help a nonlinear uncertain humanoid robot walk robustly and steadily. The efficiency of the proposed method is compared with the genetic algorithm, particle swarm optimization and improved differential evolution algorithm (modified differential evolution). Findings The simulated and experimental results carried out on the small-sized nonlinear uncertain humanoid robot clearly demonstrate that the novel algorithm offers an efficient and stable gait for humanoid robots with respect to accurate preset foot-lifting magnitude. Originality/value This paper proposes a new algorithm based on four key gait parameters that enable dynamic equilibrium in stable walking for nonlinear uncertain humanoid robots of which gait parameters are initiatively optimized with CFO algorithm.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kensuke Harada ◽  
◽  
Mitsuharu Morisawa ◽  
Shin-ichiro Nakaoka ◽  
Kenji Kaneko ◽  
...  

For the purpose of realizing the humanoid robot walking on uneven terrain, this paper proposes the kinodynamic gait planning method where both kinematics and dynamics of the system are considered. We can simultaneously plan both the foot-place and the whole-body motion taking the dynamical balance of the robot into consideration. As a dynamic constraint, we consider the differential equation of the robot's CoG. To solve this constraint, we use a walking pattern generator. We randomly sample the configuration space to search for the path connecting the start and the goal configurations. To show the effectiveness of the proposed methods, we show simulation and experimental results where the humanoid robot HRP-2 walks on rocky cliff with hands contacting the environment.


2012 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 415-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Liu ◽  
Qing Sun

It is a great challenge to plan motion for humanoid robots in complex environments especially when the terrain is cluttered and discrete. To address this problem, a novel method is proposed in this paper by planning the gait according to the stance sequence and ZMP (Zero Moment Point) reference. It consists of two components: an adaptive footstep planner and a walking pattern generator. The adaptive footstep planner can generate the stance path according to the walking rules and adjust the orientation of body relevantly. As the footstep locations are determined, Linear Inverted Pendulum Model (LIPM) is used to generate the walking pattern with a moving ZMP reference. As demonstrated in experiments on the humanoid robot HOAP-2, our method can successfully plan footstep trajectories as well as generate the stable and natural-looking gait in typical cluttered and discrete environments.


Author(s):  
Fayong Guo ◽  
Tao Mei ◽  
Marco Ceccarelli ◽  
Ziyi Zhao ◽  
Tao Li ◽  
...  

Purpose Walking on inclined ground is an important ability for humanoid robots. In general, conventional strategies for walking on slopes lack technical analysis in, first, the waist posture with respect to actual robot and, second, the landing impact, which weakens the walking stability. The purpose of this paper is to propose a generic method for walking pattern generation considering these issues with the aim of enabling humanoid robot to walk dynamically on a slope. Design/methodology/approach First, a virtual ground method (VGM) is proposed to give a continuous and intuitive zero-moment point (ZMP) on slopes. Then, the dynamic motion equations are derived based on 2D and 3D models, respectively, by using VGM. Furthermore, the waist posture with respect to the actual robot is analyzed. Finally, a reformative linear inverted pendulum (LIP) named the asymmetric linear inverted pendulum (ALIP) is proposed to achieve stable and dynamical walking in any direction on a slope with lower landing impact. Findings Simulations and experiments are carried out using the DRC-XT humanoid robot platform with the aim of verifying the validity and feasibility of these new methods. ALIP with consideration of waist posture is practical in extending the ability of walking on slopes for humanoid robots. Originality/value A generic method called ALIP for humanoid robots walking on slopes is proposed. ALIP is based on LIP and several changes, including model analysis, motion equations and ZMP functions, are discussed.


2012 ◽  
Vol 09 (01) ◽  
pp. 1250005 ◽  
Author(s):  
YOUNG-DAE HONG ◽  
JONG-HWAN KIM

In this paper, an evolutionary optimized footstep planner for the navigation of humanoid robots is proposed. A footstep planner based on a univector field navigation method is proposed to generate a command state (CS) as an input to a modifiable walking pattern generator (MWPG) at each footstep. The MWPG generates associated trajectories of every leg joint to follow the given CS. In order to satisfy various objectives in the navigation, the univector fields are optimized by evolutionary programming. The three objectives, shortest elapsed time to get to a destination, safety without obstacle collision, and less energy consumption, are considered with mechanical constraints of a real humanoid robot, that is, the maximum step length and allowable yawing range of the feet. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through both computer simulation and experiment for a small-sized humanoid robot, HanSaRam-IX.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (02) ◽  
pp. 1750004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kinam Lee ◽  
Young-Jae Ryoo ◽  
Kyung-Seok Byun ◽  
Jaeyoung Choi

In this paper, we propose an omni-directional walking pattern generator to make a child-sized humanoid robot walk in any direction. The proposed omni-directional walking pattern generator creates walking patterns for which zero moment point (ZMP) is located on the center of the supporting foot. For humanoid robots to adapt to human’s life and perform missions, it should be taller than the minimum height of a child. In this paper, we designed a humanoid robot which is similar to a child who is taller than 1[Formula: see text]m. We show the humanoid robot’s kinematics, design of a three-dimensional (3D) model, develop mechanisms and the hardware structures with servo-motors and compact-size PC. The developed humanoid robot “CHARLES2” stands for Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning and Evolutionary System-Two. The inverse kinematics of its legs is described. The principle of the omni-directional walking pattern generator is discussed to create walking motions and overcome the robot’s mechanical deficiencies. We applied the proposed omni-directional walking pattern generator based on ZMP. Through experiments, we analyzed walking patterns according to the creation and changing parameter values. The results of the experiments are presented for the efficacy of our proposed walking engine.


Author(s):  
Giorgio Metta

This chapter outlines a number of research lines that, starting from the observation of nature, attempt to mimic human behavior in humanoid robots. Humanoid robotics is one of the most exciting proving grounds for the development of biologically inspired hardware and software—machines that try to recreate billions of years of evolution with some of the abilities and characteristics of living beings. Humanoids could be especially useful for their ability to “live” in human-populated environments, occupying the same physical space as people and using tools that have been designed for people. Natural human–robot interaction is also an important facet of humanoid research. Finally, learning and adapting from experience, the hallmark of human intelligence, may require some approximation to the human body in order to attain similar capacities to humans. This chapter focuses particularly on compliant actuation, soft robotics, biomimetic robot vision, robot touch, and brain-inspired motor control in the context of the iCub humanoid robot.


2010 ◽  
Vol 07 (01) ◽  
pp. 157-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
HAO GU ◽  
MARCO CECCARELLI ◽  
GIUSEPPE CARBONE

In this paper, problems for an anthropomorphic robot arm are approached for an application in a humanoid robot with the specific features of cost oriented design and user-friendly operation. One DOF solution is proposed by using a suitable combination of gearing systems, clutches, and linkages. Models and dynamic simulations are used both for designing the system and checking the operation feasibility.


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