Des roues pour le robot Poppy Torso : 2ème édition du projet étudiant de l'ENSAM

Toujours sur la thématique THEMA du projet de l’an dernier, de nouveaux étudiants en Bachelor 2 de technologie de l’ENSAM (Talence) ont pu travailler sur le robot Poppy Torso, dont l’objectif cette fois-ci était de le doter d’une plateforme mobile.Poppy Torso augmenté de l'ENSAM, le retour. Toujours sur la thématique THEMA du projet de l'an dernier, de nouveaux étudiants en Bachelor 2 de technologie de l'ENSAM (Talence) ont pu travailler sur le robot Poppy Torso, dont l'objectif cette fois-ci était de le doter d'une plateforme mobile. Pour ce faire, les étudiants ont dû travailler en mode collaboratif pendant 6 semaines (mai – début juin) et réaliser une plateforme mobile pour que Poppy Torso puisse de déplacer

Un projet étudiant : des mains pour Poppy Torso ! Utilisation de la plateforme Poppy pour un projet étudiant

Utilisation de la plateforme Poppy pour un projet étudiant : 4 robots Poppy Torso modifiés par les élèves du campus de Bordeaux-Talence se sont affrontés dans le grand amphi. Une compétition d’un nouveau genre comprenant des figures libres et des figures imposées

Intrinsically Motivated Goal Exploration Processes with Automatic Curriculum Learning

Intrinsically motivated spontaneous exploration is a key enabler of autonomous lifelong learning in human children. It enables the discovery and acquisition of large repertoires of skills through self-generation, self-selection, self-ordering and self-experimentation of learning goals. We present an algorithmic approach called Intrinsically Motivated Goal Exploration Processes (IMGEP) to enable similar properties of autonomous or self-supervised learning in machines. The IMGEP algorithmic architecture relies on several principles: 1) self-generation of goals, generalized as fitness functions; 2) selection of goals based on intrinsic rewards; 3) exploration with incremental goal-parameterized policy search and exploitation of the gathered data with a batch learning algorithm; 4) systematic reuse of information acquired when targeting a goal for improving towards other goals. We present a particularly efficient form of IMGEP, called Modular Population-Based IMGEP, that uses a population-based policy and an object-centered modularity in goals and mutations. We provide several implementations of this architecture and demonstrate their ability to automatically generate a learning curriculum within several experimental setups including a real humanoid robot that can explore multiple spaces of goals with several hundred continuous dimensions. While no particular target goal is provided to the system, this curriculum allows the discovery of skills that act as stepping stone for learning more complex skills, e.g. nested tool use. We show that learning diverse spaces of goals with intrinsic motivations is more efficient for learning complex skills than only trying to directly learn these complex skills

Spectacle, pageantry, and parading

We celebrate the arrival of spring with revelry in search of catharsis. Carnival’s roots trace from the ancient Greek and Roman pagan celebrations, to the pageant wagons of the Medieval theatre and the French masquerades, and on through the Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans. Mardi Gras is part of Louisiana’s rich cultural history of parading and spectacle, as well as public art and performance, as a civic responsibility, and as an economic booster. Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World builds parade floats, large-scale sculptures, and props for Mardi Gras, theme parks, and casinos around the world. I interned with Kern Studios and detail my experiences in prop building, including the armature, foam carving, paper-mâché, and installation. I combined the knowledge I gained from Kern Studios and my own work studying Properties Technology in the theatre department at Louisiana State University in construction, painting, textiles, and carving to create my own parade float. I marched in the Box of Wine parade 2011 with my float based on the poppy field from the Wizard of Oz. I narrate the float building process from initial design, budgeting, trial-and-error, completion of the elements, final installation, and the parade event. By building my own project from inception to completion, I gained a broad experience in parading and spectacle

Sketch Recognition Library Applied for an Image Replication with a Humanoid Robot in a Simulated Environment

This version of the paper has been accepted for publication. The final published paper is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMRA51221.2020.9398348.Published in: 2020 3rd International Conference on Mechatronics, Robotics and Automation (ICMRA), Shanghai, China, 16-18 October 2020.[Abstract]: Sketches have been one of the most ancient techniques used by humans to portray their ideas and thoughts. Replicating this ability would help us to better understand the way in which human beings obtain their capabilities. In this work, we implemented an architecture using convolutional neural networks capable of transforming an image to a sequence of strokes to be replicated by a Poppy humanoid robot using inverse kinematic to reproduce the sketches.Thanks for all support of the PARMA group members, the International Cooperation Office, Computer School at Technological Institute of Costa Rica for the internship scholarship provided for the realization of this work. Moreover, the support provided by all people at the Integrated Group of Engineering Research at Universidade da Coruña for all knowledge contributed to this work

Bipedial Locomotion Up Sandy Slopes: Systematic Experiments Using Zero Moment Point Methods

Bipedal robotic locomotion in granular media presents a unique set of challenges at the intersection of granular physics and robotic locomotion. In this paper, we perform a systematic experimental study in which biped robotic gaits for traversing a sandy slope are empirically designed using Zero Moment Point (ZMP) methods. We are able to implement gaits that allow our 7 degree-of-freedom planar walking robot to ascend slopes with inclines up to 10°. Firstly, we identify a given set of kinematic parameters that meet the ZMP stability criterion for uphill walking at a given angle. We then find that further relating the step lengths and center of mass heights to specific slope angles through an interpolated fit allows for significantly improved success rates when ascending a sandy slope. Our results provide increased insight into the design, sensitivity and robustness of gaits on granular material, and the kinematic changes necessary for stable locomotion on complex media