Humanoid Robot Research Research Articles

Research and Application of Intelligent Humanoid Robot

With the high-speed development of science and technology, the research and application of the humanoid robot receive more and more attention in the field of intelligent robot.Firstly, the important characters of the humanoid robot are introduced in this paper.Then the architecture of the human robot is analyzed and the research works around the world are overviewed.At last, the prospects for the future research and development are described.

Recent Trends in Humanoid Robotics Research: Scientific Background, Applications, and Implications

Even though the market size is still small at this moment, applied fields of robots are gradually spreading from the manufacturing industry to the others as one of the important components to support an aging society. For this purpose, the research on human–robot interaction (HRI) has been an emerging topic of interest for both basic research and customer application. The studies are especially focused on behavioral and cognitive aspects of the interaction and the social contexts surrounding it. As a part of these studies, the term of “roboethics” has been introduced as an approach to discuss the potentialities and the limits of robots in relation to human beings. In this article, we describe the recent research trends on the field of humanoid robotics. Their principal applications and their possible impact are discussed.

Robot Head Motion Control with an Emphasis on Realism of Neck–Eye Coordination during Object Tracking

Important aspects of present-day humanoid robot research is to make such robots look realistic and human-like, both in appearance, as well as in motion and mannerism. In this paper, we focus our study on advanced control leading to realistic motion coordination for a humanoid's robot neck and eyes while tracking an object. The motivating application for such controls is conversational robotics, in which a robot head "actor" should be able to detect and make eye contact with a human subject. Therefore, in such a scenario, the 3D position and orientation of an object of interest in space should be tracked by the redundant head---eye mechanism partly through its neck, and partly through its eyes. In this paper, we propose an optimization approach, combined with a real-time visual feedback to generate the realistic robot motion and robustify it. We also offer experimental results showing that the neck---eye motion obtained from the proposed algorithm is realistic comparing to the head---eye motion of humans.

A Hybrid CPG–ZMP Controller for the Real-Time Balance of a Simulated Flexible Spine Humanoid Robot

Although a few researchers have started to realize the importance of a flexible spine in generating more natural-looking behaviors for humanoid robots, there has been no work on trying to make a full-body humanoid robot (that has a flexible spine) to maintain balance. The main reason for this is that it is very costly and difficult to develop and control this kind of robot. This paper serves two purposes. First, it proposes the use of a realistic 3-D robot simulator as a platform for costly flexible spine humanoid robotics research. Second, it presents a hybrid CPG-ZMP controller for the simulated robot. The biologically inspired CPG component of our controller allows the mechanical spine and feet to exhibit rhythmic motions using only two control parameters. Through monitoring the measured ZMP location, the engineering component modulates the neural activity of the CPG to allow the robot to maintain balance while it is standing and exhibiting motions on the sagittal and frontal planes in real time. The final postures of the simulated humanoid emerge automatically in real time through dynamic interactions between the neural networks, the robot itself, and its environment. Since experimental results have also demonstrated that our system is robust against disturbances from external pushing forces, our controller has the potential to be applicable to the next generation of humanoid robots.

Development and Technology Research of Humanoid Robot

Being an advanced platform for researching human intelligence, the humanoid robot is complex and intelligent machinery integrating mechanics, electronics, computer, sensors, control technology, artificial intelligence, bionics and other disciplines. The humanoid robot has now become hot issues in the field of robot research. The domestic and foreign research status of humanoid robot is widely surveyed. A lot of research work on humanoid robot has been done in Japan and America. Meanwhile, Chinese universities are making active research and have made breakthrough progress. The configuration of freedom of humanoid robot, the classification of gait planning, the stability criteria based on zero moment point, the classification and application of sensors and robot control system are summarized and analyzed.

Highly Precise Dynamic Simulation Environment for Humanoid Robots

In this paper we present a simulation environment for humanoid robots with a precise and efficient method of handling ground contact, and experiments empirically validating the simulator. Highly accurate dynamic simulation is an essential tool for research and development in humanoid robotics, and a simulator should ideally provide a transparent interface with pathways for control and sensing information identical to those of the actual robot(s) it models. We identified ground contact as the chief source of divergence from reality in work to date and have tackled this problem by developing an algorithm for resolving ground contact for humanoid robots. Our objective was to produce an algorithm that is accurate, efficient and easy to implement. The algorithm is general with respect to the complexity of the foot model; is based on empirically measurable characteristics of the foot–ground interaction, i.e., friction, which we have obtained using experiments described; provides an exact implementation of the Coulomb friction model (avoiding polyhedral approximation of the friction cone); runs in real-time; is also amenable to a straightforward accuracy–speed trade-off; and is relatively easy to implement as a constraint selection method. The simulation environment embodies generality, and we have applied it to two different humanoid robots, Hoap-2 and CB. We present experiments comparing the results of simulation with identical motions performed by real robots, and comparing the full contact resolution algorithm, the modification trading accuracy for computational speed and a penalty-based method.

Performing with machines and machines that perform

The author is a performance and visual artist whose concern lies in the co-evolution of human and machine, a subject on which he comments with self-made machines. The article provides an insight into his artistic practice and defines a personal position on notions encountered in the work such as delegation to machine, slave—master. technological systems and autonomous performing robots. Technical aspects and underlying concepts of a selection of machines he made for performances or installations are described. State of the art humanoid robotics research and examples of robotic art are examined with a critical distance combined to a genuine interest in the development of contemporary technology.

ヒューマノイド・ロボットの研究・展望(展望・概説,<メカライフ特集>ロボット)

ヒューマノイド・ロボットの研究・展望(展望・概説,<メカライフ特集>ロボット)

FROM LAMPREY TO HUMANOID: THE DESIGN AND CONTROL OF A FLEXIBLE SPINE BELLY DANCING HUMANOID ROBOT WITH INSPIRATION FROM BIOLOGY

Research on humanoid robotics has up to now been focused on the control of manipulators and walking machines. The contributions of body torso torwards daily activities have been neglected. To address this deficient area of humanoid robotics research, we developed a unique flexible spine biped humanoid robot. Inspired by the rhythmic and wave-like motions commonly seen in swimming lamprey and in belly dancing, we investigated the possibility of controlling the spine of our robot using the lamprey central pattern generator (CPG). Experimental results show that our robot is capable of mimicing both basic and complex spine motions with fewer actuators than the human spine and using only three input parameters (global and extra excitations from the brainstem, plane of actions). Our work suggests that the CPG is a suitable controller for humanoid spine motions because it can control a high degree of freedom mechanical spine with minimized control parameters. No complex computations of spine trajectories are involved. Furthermore, since our robot can move its upper body dynamically while standing and without external supports, it may be used as a prototype for the next generation of humanoid robots.

「人類は宇宙に進出し，そこで適応できるか」宇宙時代におけるロボティックスの役割 人間生理・心理との関係

Even though the market size is still small at this moment, applied fields of robots are gradually spreading from the manufacturing industry to the others in recent years. One can now easily expect that applications of robots will expand into the first and the third industrial fields as one of the important components to support our society in the 21st century. There also raises strong anticipations in Japan that robots for the personal use will coexist with humans and provide supports such as the assistance for the housework, care of the aged and the physically handicapped, since Japan is one the fastest aging societies in the world. Consequently, humanoid robots and/or animaloid robots have been treated as subjects of robotics researches in Japan such as a research tool for human/animal science, an entertainment/mental-commit robot or an assistant/agent for humans in the human living environment. Over the last couple of years, some manufactures including famous global companies started to develop prototypes or even to sell mass production robots for the purposes mentioned above, such as SONY, TMSUK, ZMP, TOYOTA, HONDA, Mitsubishi Heavy, etc. Most of those robots have some lifelikeness in their appearances and behaviors. On the other hand, Waseda University, where we belong to, has been one of the leading research sites on humanoid robot research since the late Prof. Ichiro Kato and his colleagues started the WABOT (WAseda roBOT) Projects and developed the historical humanoid robots that are WABOT-1 and WABOT-2 done in the early 70s and 80s respectively. One of the most important aspects of our research philosophy is as follows: By constructing anthropomorphic/humanoid robots that function and behave like a human, we are attempting to develop a design method of a humanoid robot having human friendliness to coexist with humans naturally and symbiotically, as well as to scientifically build not only the physical model of a human but also the mental model of it from the engineering view point. Based upon the philosophy mentioned above, we have been doing researches on humanoid robots, such as the Biped Walking Robots, Emotion Expression Robots, Mastication Robots, Flute Player Robots, Speech Production Robots, etc. We believe that our research philosophy and methodology on humanoid robot design will be applicable to space robot design and also will give important knowledge and views to space sciences.

Humanoid robotics platforms developed in HRP

This paper presents humanoid robotics platform that consists of a humanoid robot and an open architecture software platform developed in METI’s Humanoid Robotics Project (HRP). The final version of the robot, called HRP-2, has 1540 mm height, 58 kg weight and 30 degrees of the freedom. The software platform includes a dynamics simulator and motion controllers of the robot for biped locomotion, falling and getting up motions. The platform has been used to develop various applications and is expected to initiate more humanoid robotics research.

Artificial sociability: from embodied AI toward new understandings of personhood

Artificial Intelligence (AI) research projects undertaken with new theories of embodied intelligence and humanoid robots are examined from the perspective not of their impacts on society, but in terms of the ethical and theological implications of their basic assumptions. By way of background, ideas about humanoid robot research in Japan are compared with related Jewish and Christian ideas. Basic descriptions of the MIT projects known as Cog and Kismet are then provided. Description then leads to general and personal analyses of the new spiritual understandings of personhood and sociability that may emerge from interaction with these new technological creations.