Passing under obstacles with humanoid robots

A motion planning method that allows humanoid robots to pass under obstacles is developed. From experimental analyses of human motions, we find a new category of the motion: a human turns sideways and passes under an obstacle. In order to realize this kind motion with humanoid robot HRP- 2, statically stable and geometrically possible initial and goal configurations are analyzed. A motion planning method that can connect two configurations with dynamic stability is proposed. It consists of "motion path planner" and "motion timing planner". Motion path planner can generate statically stable motion under considering joint movable range and collision avoidance. Motion timing planner can generate dynamically stable motion under considering ZMP conditions and maximum joint velocities. The effectiveness of the proposed method is experimentally confirmed with humanoid robot HRP-2.