Humanoid Robot Soccer Locomotion and Kick Dynamics: Open Loop Walking, Kicking and Morphing into Special Motions on the Nao Robot

Striker speed and accuracy in the RoboCup (SPL) international robot soccer league is becoming increasingly important as the level of play rises. Competition around the ball is now decided in a matter of seconds. Therefore, eliminating any wasted actions or motions is crucial when attempting to kick the ball. It is common to see a discontinuity between walking and kicking where a robot will return to an initial pose in preparation for the kick action. In this thesis we explore the removal of this behaviour by developing a transition gait that morphs the walk directly into the kick back swing pose. The solution presented here is targeted towards the use of the Aldebaran walk for the Nao robot. The solution we develop involves the design of a central pattern generator to allow for controlled steps with realtime accuracy, and a phase locked loop method to synchronise with the Aldebaran walk so that precise step length control can be activated when required. An open loop trajectory mapping approach is taken to the walk that is stabilized statically through the use of a phase varying joint holding torque technique. We also examine the basic princples of open loop walking, focussing on the commonly overlooked frontal plane motion. The act of kicking itself is explored both analytically and empirically, and solutions are provided that are versatile and powerful. Included as an appendix, the broader matter of striker behaviour (process of goal scoring) is reviewed and we present a velocity control algorithm that is very accurate and efficient in terms of speed of execution

Artificial Intelligence and Ambient Intelligence

This book includes a series of scientific papers published in the Special Issue on Artificial Intelligence and Ambient Intelligence at the journal Electronics MDPI. The book starts with an opinion paper on “Relations between Electronics, Artificial Intelligence and Information Society through Information Society Rules”, presenting relations between information society, electronics and artificial intelligence mainly through twenty-four IS laws. After that, the book continues with a series of technical papers that present applications of Artificial Intelligence and Ambient Intelligence in a variety of fields including affective computing, privacy and security in smart environments, and robotics. More specifically, the first part presents usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods in combination with wearable devices (e.g., smartphones and wristbands) for recognizing human psychological states (e.g., emotions and cognitive load). The second part presents usage of AI methods in combination with laser sensors or Wi-Fi signals for improving security in smart buildings by identifying and counting the number of visitors. The last part presents usage of AI methods in robotics for improving robots’ ability for object gripping manipulation and perception. The language of the book is rather technical, thus the intended audience are scientists and researchers who have at least some basic knowledge in computer science

Write a Book IQP

2050: The settlement on Mars has been cut off from Earth for nearly 5 years. In spite of their efforts to conserve what little food and water and oxygen they still have, they are running out of time... The Desperates back on Earth have mastered Darwinian survival, while the STEM-Heads have pursued a more discreet evasion of Death since the Collapse of 2045. Yet all of them dream of escaping from their overheated, overpopulated Hell called Home. As the mission to clean-up after First Mars leads a small STEM-Head band towards Kennedy Space Center, rumors of a distant paradise reach Desperate leaders, and, all of sudden, all eyes are back on Mars..

Computational Intelligence in Electromyography Analysis

Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. EMG may be used clinically for the diagnosis of neuromuscular problems and for assessing biomechanical and motor control deficits and other functional disorders. Furthermore, it can be used as a control signal for interfacing with orthotic and/or prosthetic devices or other rehabilitation assists. This book presents an updated overview of signal processing applications and recent developments in EMG from a number of diverse aspects and various applications in clinical and experimental research. It will provide readers with a detailed introduction to EMG signal processing techniques and applications, while presenting several new results and explanation of existing algorithms. This book is organized into 18 chapters, covering the current theoretical and practical approaches of EMG research

Biomechanical Spectrum of Human Sport Performance

Writing or managing a scientific book, as it is known today, depends on a series of major activities, such as regrouping researchers, reviewing chapters, informing and exchanging with contributors, and at the very least, motivating them to achieve the objective of publication. The idea of this book arose from many years of work in biomechanics, health disease, and rehabilitation. Through exchanges with authors from several countries, we learned much from each other, and we decided with the publisher to transfer this knowledge to readers interested in the current understanding of the impact of biomechanics in the analysis of movement and its optimization. The main objective is to provide some interesting articles that show the scope of biomechanical analysis and technologies in human behavior tasks. Engineers, researchers, and students from biomedical engineering and health sciences, as well as industrial professionals, can benefit from this compendium of knowledge about biomechanics applied to the human body

Gaze-Based Human-Robot Interaction by the Brunswick Model

We present a new paradigm for human-robot interaction based on social signal processing, and in particular on the Brunswick model. Originally, the Brunswick model copes with face-to-face dyadic interaction, assuming that the interactants are communicating through a continuous exchange of non verbal social signals, in addition to the spoken messages. Social signals have to be interpreted, thanks to a proper recognition phase that considers visual and audio information. The Brunswick model allows to quantitatively evaluate the quality of the interaction using statistical tools which measure how effective is the recognition phase. In this paper we cast this theory when one of the interactants is a robot; in this case, the recognition phase performed by the robot and the human have to be revised w.r.t. the original model. The model is applied to Berrick, a recent open-source low-cost robotic head platform, where the gazing is the social signal to be considered

The Art of Movies

Movie is considered to be an important art form; films entertain, educate, enlighten and inspire audiences. Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as — in metonymy — the field in general. The origin of the name comes from the fact that photographic film (also called filmstock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist — motion pictures (or just pictures or “picture”), the silver screen, photoplays, the cinema, picture shows, flicks — and commonly movies

Bowdoin Orient v.135, no.1-25 (2005-2006)

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