Lifting and Carrying an Object of Unknown Mass Properties and Friction on the Head by a Humanoid Robot

When a humanoid robot carries an object, it should recognize surroundings to avoid obstacles while holding the object stably. Previous methods usually hold an object in front of its body. However, it causes visual occlusions and instability of holding when the object is supported by only its hands. To solve these problems, we propose methods for making a humanoid robot lift and carry an object on the head. By holding an object on the head, a robot can recognize its surroundings easily as the object goes out of its sight. In addition, as the object is supported by both hands and the head, three points in total, carriage becomes more stabilized. We also implement our methods on the humanoid robot JAXON and show the methods can be applied to the real robot.