Control framework for cooperative object transportation by two humanoid robots

Louis Hawley (1, 2) , Wael Suleiman (2)

1 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
2 UdeS - Université de Sherbrooke

This paper aims at proposing a comprehensive control framework designed for cooperative transportation of a heavy load by two humanoid robots. First, a simplified dynamic model of the cooperative task is developed and the system stability is rigorously analyzed. Next, a centralized controller is formulated, this formulation provides an optimal control of the system by considering the robots dynamical stability while satisfying the robot-object-robot constraints. Finally, the controller is integrated with an arm controller and a local planner module forming a complete framework for cooperative transportation tasks. The approach is thoroughly analyzed and validated in simulation, and experiments are carried out on a team of two Nao humanoid robots transporting a range of objects placed on a small table. The experimental results pointed out the robustness of the approach as the robots successfully accomplished the transportation tasks in a stable way, moreover the transported objects masses were up to half the mass of one of the robot. Besides increasing the robot payload, some of the transported objects are relatively large and it is simply impossible for a single robot to transport them.

Mots clés: Humanoid robot; Control; Legged locomotion; Robot-Robot Cooperation

Domaines: Automatique / Robotique; Robotique [cs.RO]

Louis Hawley, Wael Suleiman. Control framework for cooperative object transportation by two humanoid robots. Robotics and Autonomous Systems, 2019, 115, pp.1-16. ⟨hal-02047495⟩