{"title":"A pilot study on the eBear socially assistive robot: Implication for interacting with elderly people with moderate depression","authors":"B. AmirH.Kargar, M. Mahoor","doi":"10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246957","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246957","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents the details of a pilot study on using the eBear, an animal-like social robot equipped with artificial intelligence in assisting elderly people with depression. The eBear can show facial expression and head gesture, understand users' emotion using audio-visual sensory inputs and machine learning, speak and show relatively accurate visual speech, and have dialog with users. The eBear can also respond to their questions by querying the Internet, encourage them to physically be more active, and perform simple physical exercises. To understand the effectiveness of the eBear on the mood and happiness of elderly people, the eBear was used in a pilot study in which seven elderly people with no to moderate depression interacted with the eBear for about 45 minutes three times a week over one month. The results of the pilot study show that interacting with the eBear can increase happiness and mood of these human users as measured by the Face Scale, and the Geriatric Depression Scale score systems.","PeriodicalId":143992,"journal":{"name":"2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids)","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123564476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hiroto Suzuki, Yuya Nagamatsu, Takuma Shirai, Shunichi Nozawa, Youhei Kakiuchi, K. Okada, M. Inaba
{"title":"Torque based stabilization control for torque sensorless humanoid robots","authors":"Hiroto Suzuki, Yuya Nagamatsu, Takuma Shirai, Shunichi Nozawa, Youhei Kakiuchi, K. Okada, M. Inaba","doi":"10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246908","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246908","url":null,"abstract":"This paper proposes a stabilization control for joint torque controlled humanoid robots without joint torque sensors. The proposed controller's role is to compute all joint torques from the desired positions/postures of floating end effectors, the desired Center Of Gravity (COG), the desired root link posture and the reference Zero Moment Point (ZMP). The controller uses a very simple strategy based on the Single Degree Of Freedom (SDOF) model and statics. First, it calculates the wrenches at the COG or end effectors to keep their positions/postures. Second, it calculates the contact end effector wrenches by solving a constrained optimization problem. Finally, it computes joint torques from all end effector wrenches. Furthermore, we propose a method by which we control joint torques without joint torque sensors by compensating inertia torques and frictions. We implement the stabilization controller and the joint torque controller in a high-power biped robot. We confirm the effectiveness of the proposed controller through balancing and walking experiments on rough terrain.","PeriodicalId":143992,"journal":{"name":"2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids)","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124119273","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elisa Maiettini, Giulia Pasquale, L. Rosasco, L. Natale
{"title":"Interactive data collection for deep learning object detectors on humanoid robots","authors":"Elisa Maiettini, Giulia Pasquale, L. Rosasco, L. Natale","doi":"10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246973","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246973","url":null,"abstract":"Deep Learning (DL) methods are notoriously data hungry. Their adoption in robotics is challenging due to the cost associated with data acquisition and labeling. In this paper we focus on the problem of object detection, i.e. the simultaneous localization and recognition of objects in the scene, for which various DL architectures have been proposed in the literature. We propose to use an automatic annotation procedure, which leverages on human-robot interaction and depth-based segmentation, for the acquisition and labeling of training examples. We fine-tune the Faster R-CNN [36] network with these data acquired by the robot autonomously. We measure the performance on the same dataset and investigate the generalization abilities of the network on different settings and in absence of explicit segmentation, showing good detection performance. Experiments on the iCub humanoid robot [25] show that the proposed strategy is effective and can be used to deploy deep object detection algorithms on a robot.","PeriodicalId":143992,"journal":{"name":"2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids)","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124448515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jonathan Spitz, Karim Bouyarmane, S. Ivaldi, Jean-Baptiste Mouret
{"title":"Trial-and-error learning of repulsors for humanoid QP-based whole-body control","authors":"Jonathan Spitz, Karim Bouyarmane, S. Ivaldi, Jean-Baptiste Mouret","doi":"10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246914","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246914","url":null,"abstract":"Whole body controllers based on quadratic programming allow humanoid robots to achieve complex motions. However, they rely on the assumption that the model perfectly captures the dynamics of the robot and its environment, whereas even the most accurate models are never perfect. In this paper, we introduce a trial-and-error learning algorithm that allows whole-body controllers to operate in spite of inaccurate models, without needing to update these models. The main idea is to encourage the controller to perform the task differently after each trial by introducing repulsors in the quadratic program cost function. We demonstrate our algorithm on (1) a simple 2D case and (2) a simulated iCub robot for which the model used by the controller and the one used in simulation do not match.","PeriodicalId":143992,"journal":{"name":"2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids)","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126339003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
S. Kajita, M. Benallegue, Rafael Cisneros Limón, T. Sakaguchi, Shin'ichiro Nakaoka, M. Morisawa, K. Kaneko, F. Kanehiro
{"title":"Biped walking pattern generation based on spatially quantized dynamics","authors":"S. Kajita, M. Benallegue, Rafael Cisneros Limón, T. Sakaguchi, Shin'ichiro Nakaoka, M. Morisawa, K. Kaneko, F. Kanehiro","doi":"10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246933","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246933","url":null,"abstract":"We present a biped walking pattern generation based on a new way of system discretization named spatially quantized dynamics (SQD). In SQD, a continuous system is discretized by a constant unit length along the walk direction, and the dynamics is represented by a recurrence formula for a unit length motion, taking variable period for each cycle. Using SQD modelling, we can generate a biped gait by taking three steps;1)Design a walking pattern only considering kinematics in the sagittal plane, 2) Calculate the ZMP and velocity by optimization of the spatially quantized dynamics, 3) Add hip lateral motion for 3D dynamic balance. It is shown that we can easily generate a biped gait with stretched knees and a gait for large step climbing. The validity of the generated patterns are confirmed by simulations.","PeriodicalId":143992,"journal":{"name":"2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids)","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127918263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Capture-point based balance and reactive omnidirectional walking controller","authors":"M. Bombile, A. Billard","doi":"10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8239532","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8239532","url":null,"abstract":"This paper proposes a capture-point based reactive omnidirectional controller for bipedal locomotion. The proposed scheme, formulated within Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework, exploits concurrently the Center of Mass (CoM) and Capture Point (CP) dynamics. It allows the on-line generation of the CoM reference trajectory and the automatic generation of footstep positions and orientations in response to a given velocity to be tracked, or a disturbance to be rejected by the robot while accounting explicitly for different walking constraints. For instance, in order to cope with disturbance such as a push, the proposed controller not only adjusts the position of the Center of Pressure (CoP) within the support foot, but can also induce at least one step with appropriate length allowing thus to maintain the stability of the robot. Finally, the proposed algorithm is validated through simulations and actual experiments on the humanoid robot iCub.","PeriodicalId":143992,"journal":{"name":"2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids)","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128500629","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. C. Yildirim, P. Şendur, O. Bilgin, Berk Gulek, G. G. Yapici, B. Ugurlu
{"title":"An integrated design approach for a series elastic actuator: Stiffness formulation, fatigue analysis, thermal management","authors":"M. C. Yildirim, P. Şendur, O. Bilgin, Berk Gulek, G. G. Yapici, B. Ugurlu","doi":"10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246902","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246902","url":null,"abstract":"This paper presents an integrated mechanical design approach for the long-term and repetitive use of series elastic actuators (SEAs). Already, computational models for series elastic actuator design have been developed in order to address the challenging weight and volume targets. However, an integrated design method in which the coupling effects between various interacting requirements that are explored at every stage of the design cycle does not exist. In particular, the interactions between the torsional stiffness, strength, fatigue life and thermal performance are not analyzed in-depth. To this end, we propose a comprehensive design approach in which the aforementioned requirements (FEA, stiffness formulation, fatigue analysis, and thermal management) are integrated in a complementary manner. Computer-aided analyses and experimental results verified the effectiveness of our design approach. The proposed approach is employed to manufacture our SEA module CoEx-SEA.","PeriodicalId":143992,"journal":{"name":"2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids)","volume":"09 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129646232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Farbod Farshidian, E. Jelavic, Asutosh Satapathy, Markus Giftthaler, J. Buchli
{"title":"Real-time motion planning of legged robots: A model predictive control approach","authors":"Farbod Farshidian, E. Jelavic, Asutosh Satapathy, Markus Giftthaler, J. Buchli","doi":"10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246930","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246930","url":null,"abstract":"We introduce a real-time, constrained, nonlinear Model Predictive Control for the motion planning of legged robots. The proposed approach uses a constrained optimal control algorithm known as SLQ. We improve the efficiency of this algorithm by introducing a multi-processing scheme for estimating value function in its backward pass. This pass has been often calculated as a single process. This parallel SLQ algorithm can optimize longer time horizons without proportional increase in its computation time. Thus, our MPC algorithm can generate optimized trajectories for the next few phases of the motion within only a few milliseconds. This outperforms the state of the art by at least one order of magnitude. The performance of the approach is validated on a quadruped robot for generating dynamic gaits such as trotting.","PeriodicalId":143992,"journal":{"name":"2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids)","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123931346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Robert J. Griffin, S. Bertrand, Georg Wiedebach, A. Leonessa, J. Pratt
{"title":"Capture point trajectories for reduced knee bend using step time optimization","authors":"Robert J. Griffin, S. Bertrand, Georg Wiedebach, A. Leonessa, J. Pratt","doi":"10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8239533","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8239533","url":null,"abstract":"Traditional force-controlled bipedal walking utilizes highly bent knees, resulting in high torques as well as inefficient, and unnatural motions. Even with advanced planning of center of mass height trajectories, significant amounts of knee-bend can be required due to arbitrarily chosen step timing. In this work, we present a method that examines the effects of adjusting the step timing to produce plans that only require a specified amount of knee bend to execute. We define a quadratic program that optimizes the step timings and is executed using a simple iterative feedback approach to account for higher order terms. We then illustrate the effectiveness of this algorithm by comparing the walking gait of the simulated Atlas humanoid with and without the algorithm, showing that the algorithm significantly reduces the required knee bend for execution. We aim to later use this approach to achieve natural, efficient walking motions on humanoid robot platforms.","PeriodicalId":143992,"journal":{"name":"2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids)","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133093339","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A geometric approach for learning compliant motions from demonstration","authors":"Markku Suomalainen, V. Kyrki","doi":"10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246961","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1109/HUMANOIDS.2017.8246961","url":null,"abstract":"This paper proposes a method to learn from human demonstration compliant contact motions, which take advantage of interaction forces between workpieces to align them, even when contact force may occur from different directions on different instances of reproduction. To manage the uncertainty in unstructured conditions, the motions learned with our method can be reproduced with an impedance controller. Learning from Demonstration is used because the planning of compliant motions in 3-D is computationally intractable. The proposed method will learn an individual compliant motion, many of which can be combined to solve more complex tasks. The method is based on measuring simultaneously the direction of motion and the forces acting on the end-effector. From these measurements we construct a set of constraints for motion directions which, with correct compliance, result in the observed motion. Constraints from multiple demonstrations are projected into a 2-D angular coordinate system where their intersection is determined to find a set of feasible desired directions, of which a single motion direction is chosen. The work is based on the assumption that movement in directions other than the desired direction is caused by interaction forces. Using this assumption, we infer the number of compliant axes and, if required, their directions. Experiments with a KUKA LWR4+ show that our method can successfully reproduce motions which require taking advantage of the environment.","PeriodicalId":143992,"journal":{"name":"2017 IEEE-RAS 17th International Conference on Humanoid Robotics (Humanoids)","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134496337","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}