Mobile experimental platform for the development of environmentally interactive control algorithms towards the implementation on a walking humanoid robot

In the framework of the long term Collaborative Research Center SFB 588 "Humanoid Robots" the robot ARMAR III has to manage different basic skills in a highly dynamic environment. They mainly take place in the area close to the robot and require especially its upper body including head, arms and hands. However, during the last project phase the development has been mainly focused on basic skills which have to be accomplished mainly in a wider range and require also walking capability (e.g. carrying a tray). In order to investigate in advance such new environmentally interactive control algorithms, an adequate development platform is required. The mobile experimental platform developed with this goal at Fraunhofer IOSB consists of an upper body including various existing robot components like torso, head, arms and hands, as well as a lower body represented by a mobile robot. A Stewart platform provides then the functionality of a human hip connecting upper and lower body. This hexapod structure is the central element of the proposed platform because it is responsible for a motion of the upper body, that emulates the oscillations of a human gangway. Therefore, the most important steps of its design process will be discussed in this paper. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of the platform, a case study optimizing the gaze control of a humanoid robot head will be presented.