Exploiting Task Intervals for Whole Body Robot Control

This paper presents a whole body motion algorithm and shows some steps towards its feasibility in complex scenarios. We employ the framework of Liegeois, (1977) which solves the redundant inverse kinematics problem on velocity level. To make the controller suitable for a variety of different applications, task descriptors for the relative effector positions as well as a one-and two-dimensional attitude representation are proposed. The inverse kinematics are extended by allowing for "displacement intervals" which are formulated in task space. The proposed control scheme guarantees that the effector motion lies within the specified interval. However, the motion inside the interval is determined by optimization criteria, which can effectively be utilized to generate a more flexible and robust motion. We discuss an example and show simulation and experimental results on the humanoid robot ASIMO