Design and control of a modular actuator driven humanoid robot

This paper gives an overview of design and control aspects of the humanoid robot Robo-Erectus Senior (RESr-1), which was developed as an experimental platform for interaction and cooperative research in general and humanoid robotic soccer in particular. To rapidly design and construct the humanoid robot with various configurations with different kinematics and dynamics characteristics, the modular design concept is employed in the development of the RESr-1 using modular reconfigurable actuator module which is a self-contained drive unit with a built-in motor, a controller, an amplifier, and the communication interface. The overall design and implementation, along with an overview of mechanical design, hierarchical control architecture, vision-based behaviour and walking planning and control, are elaborated. The first generation RESr made its debut at the RoboCup 2007, managed to enter the semi-finals and got forth place in the penalty kick competition. Some experimental results on RESr-1 walking, tracking and kicking a ball are also demonstrated.