Self collision avoidance for humanoids using circular and elliptical capsule bounding volumes

This paper presents a self collision avoidance scheme for humanoid robots using elliptical and circular capsules as collision bounding volumes. A capsule is defined as an elliptical or circular cylinder capped with ellipsoids or spheres respectively. The humanoid body is modeled using elliptical capsules, while the moving segments, i.e. arms and legs, of the humanoid are modeled using circular capsules. The self collision distance between two capsules is computed and used to generate self collision free motion of the humanoid. Collisions are avoided by adjusting the joint angles of the colliding segments based on the collision distance and the location of the collision points. A case study of a humanoid dance is used to test the self collision avoidance method. Self collision free motion is attained by the humanoid for the entire dance.