Principles Underlying Locomotor Trajectory Formation

Abstract

Locomotion trajectories for anthropomorphic systems are the result of a complex interplay between perception of the goal, the environment, and physical characteristics. In humanoid robots, as in humans, perceptual requirements may arise due to the need to look at the walking goal or grasp target. Behaviors arising from physical characteristics are, for example, a preference to walk forward. This chapter provides the reader with comprehensive knowledge and tools to answer the question: What path should a humanoid robot take to reach a goal? We do this by introducing some models of locomotion trajectory formation and discussing their merits with reference to ease of implementation, movement realism, and the general link to humanoid perception. We also recall some of the major results related to locomotor trajectories coming from human movement research and discuss their potential impacts for humanoid robotics. Finally, we summarize studies where locomotion trajectory models have been implemented on the full-size humanoid robot HRP-2.