Algorithms and graphic interface design to control and teach a humanoid robot through human imitation

Abstract

Given that human-like robots are finding their place in different areas of our world, research is being carried out in order to improve human-robot interaction. Humanoid robots not only require a human appearance but also require human-like movements. Along these lines we present this project which tries to address the question of human to robot arm mapping with the objective to control in real time and to teach a robot by imitation. For the technical implementation we have worked with a SR3000 ToF camera to sense the human movements which allows us to perform a markerless arm tracking based on depth information. The robot used is a Robotis Bioloid; still, the software has been designed to be adapted with few modifications to other robots having similar arm structures. Aknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor Guillem Alenya for the supervision of this project and for giving me the opportunity to work at the Institut of Robotics (IRI) from the CSIC. I would also like to thank Montserrat Gines to accept being the liaison with the university at ETSETB, and for her help in the bureaucratic tasks. I would like to thank Pol Monso, Sergi Foix and Sergi Hernandez for their help during the first steps of my project; Gerard Mauri for his help to record the videos of Bioloid; Eduard Nus for helping me with LaTex; Albane Delos for her advices; and Moha Marrawi and Edgar Simo for the talks and the time shared at IRI. I would also like to thank the Backup group at T-Systems, with whom I have been working during five months that have coincided with some period of this project. It gave me some economic independence and I have spend a great time with the group. Thanks to my flatmates, Naxo and Wilmar, for sharing the flat and the moods. Shared, life is more. I especially thank all my family and particularly my parents, Leonor Siscart and Josep Ramon Rosanes, and my sister, Elisa Rosanes, for their love, economical support and understanding throughout all this time. Finally, I would like to thank Pau for the time shared during a large part of the project period.