Manipulation and Task Execution by Humanoids

Abstract

This chapter is focused on planning and execution of tasks, most notably manipulation, with humanoid robots. The chapter opens with a discussion on different levels of planning: high-level planning for task sequencing and prioritization, medium level for tasks that involve whole-body motions, and low-level planning for grasp and manipulation tasks. The following section discusses in more detail the manipulation tasks, including grasp and motion planning for single- and dualarm manipulations. Next, the effective exploitation of the multiple degrees of freedom available in a humanoid robot allows the execution of tasks that involve whole-body motions. Finally, higher level plans that define sequences of actions to be executed by the robots are considered, including methods to deal with natural language input for commanding robot actions.