Conect - An application for hybrid conferences

For the IEEE ISMAR 2021 contest, we propose Conect, an application allowing natural social interactions to build next generation hybrid conferences. Our application works on a smartphone and a classical computer. A video projector is used at the real-world conference site and displays the names of remote attendees on the floor. On-site attendees can scan the projected names with the mobile app and communicate with remote attendees. This application allows natural interactions between on-site and remote attendees through video calls, a feature absent from current virtual world apps. Since it requires using everyday-life devices only, Conect is an non-intrusive application, easy to use and to deploy, focusing on improving awareness and preserving the experience of real-world conferences

Dynamic lifting motion for humanoid robots

Abstract-This paper describes a motion generation method for dynamic lifting by a humanoid robot. The proposed technique suggests the possibility of taking advantage of the whole body motion in order to facilitate the lifting movement. In particular, the idea is to perform a preliminary motion in order to generate a momentum which is instantaneously transferred to the object as an impulsive force. This allows the humanoid to lift up an object that could not be lifted up only by continuous force. However an impulsive force may make the humanoid unstable. Then, we propose to set the center of percussion (CoPn) of the whole system at the center of the support polygon of the humanoid when it lifts up the object. We also propose a design method of a preliminary motion of the humanoid that generates a sufficient momentum to lift up an object without any slip, tumble and hop of the whole system. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed by simulation and experiment