Parameter Adjustment of EROS Humanoid Robot Soccer using a Motion Visualization

COMPLETE Journal of Computer, Electronic, and Telecommunication ISSN 2723-4371, E-ISSN 2723-5912 doi.org/10.52435/complete.v2i1.203 Parameter Adjustment of EROS Humanoid Robot Soccer using a Motion Visualization Anhar Risnumawan1,*, Rokhmat Febrianto2, Indra Adji Sulistijono3, and Eny Kusumawati4 Mechatronic Engineering Division, Politeknik Elektronika Negeri Surabaya (PENS) , , , and , 1,2,3,4 1 Abstract: Humanoid robot is a robot whose overall appearance is formed based on the human body and can interact with equipment and the environment created by humans. The robot's balance becomes fundamental in carrying out various tasks in designing humanoid robots. To deal with this, the adjustment of the humanoid robot movement is crucial in this work, research related to the virtual visualization of robots. Virtual robot visualization can be done by creating a simulator that contains dynamic parameters, including the physics of the robot. With the simulation containing dynamic parameters, the humanoid robot movement can be tried many times until the robot movement is robust. Applying the URDF (Unified Robot Description Format) model to the Gazebo simulator, which is supported by the ROS (Robot Operating System) framework, can make a simulator with dynamic parameters mimicking a real environment. In order to make a robust robot motion, feedback is needed in position and torque to find out the difference between simulation and reality. On the other hand, simulations can be done without cost or risk and, most importantly, mimic the actual robot soccer environment. Keywords: Humanoid Soccer Robot; Motion Visualization; ROS; URDF; Gazebo Simulator 1. Introduction Today, the application of humanoid robots in daily activities is no longer considered unusual and has been frequently used by researchers and users to complete a given task. The development of humanoid robots has attracted much interest for researchers in robotics. These can be observed by educational institutions and technology companies that have competed to show the results of research on humanoid robots such as ASIMO robots by Honda [1], Valkyrie robots by NASA [2], THR3 robots by Toyota [3], DLR-TORO robots [4], and the NimbRo-OP2X robot [5]. One of the organizations highly engaged in humanoid robots, Robocup, has predicted and aims to develop a humanoid robot team that can win against the world championship team in 2050 with the rules of FIFA. In Indonesia itself, the trend of humanoid robots is still developing. The Indonesian Higher Education deeply supports the Kontes Robot Indonesia (KRI) held annually. Humanoid robots are in the division of the Kontes Robot Sepak Bola Indonesia (KRSBI), which tests the team robot performance from several universities. Each year the robot soccer game rules are continuously revised to mimic the actual FIFA soccer rules. The new rule of a soccer field that previously used carpet changes into synthetic grass, affecting robot stability and balance significantly. Types of synthetic grass are bumpy and not always flat, making the robot's movements weave or unstable, which can cause the robot to lose balance and fall quickly. Teams often employ enormous hand-tuning of robot parameters to overcome these problems before the match starts. Correct parameter adjustment of the humanoid robot movement is essential so that the robot can at least perform fundamental soccer skills, such as walking, kicking, and robustly. However, this method is less effective in practice because it requires much time to try the adjustments' results while potentially breaking the robot. 1 Complete 2022, Vol. 3, No. 1, doi.org/10.52435/complete.v2i1.203 Designing a new humanoid robot would not be trivial without a sophisticated simulation (visualization), especially when designing a walking gait. A sophisticated visualization such as designing a new motion, new kicking motion, and get-up motion from falling, and testing those motions in a 3d simulator that considers the physics of a real environment, such as gravity and mass, are crucial for humanoid robots soccer. Previously, much trial and error had been performed until a more reasonable performance was achieved. Although the trial-and-error process is common and simple in practice, the age of the robot motor servos can degrade significantly. With the help of visualization in a 3d simulation, a nearly actual robot model, through a commonly URDF (Unified Robot Description Format) model, can be deployed in the simulation, and all the required parameters can be adjusted before actual deployment and without degrading robot motor servos. In connection with these problems, it is necessary to make a virtual visualization in simulation [6], which contains dynamic parameters. With the simulation that contains dynamic parameters, the Humanoid robot movement can be tried many times until the robot movement is robust or follows what we want. However, the simulator still has some challenges, namely comparing simulation results and reality. By applying the URDF Model to the Gazebo simulator and supported by the ROS (Robot Operating System) framework, a simulator can be made with dynamic parameters. In order to make a robust robot motion, feedback is needed in position and torque to find out the difference between simulation and reality. On the other hand, simulations can be done without cost, risk, and, most importantly, fast. An example of a virtual humanoid robot visualization, along with its kinematic diagram, is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Kinematic diagrams and virtual visualizations of EROS humanoid robots sourced from NimbRo. 2. Related Work The humanoid robot is a branch of a robot with a body shape built to resemble a human body. In general, humanoid robots have a torso, head, two arms, and two legs, although some humanoid robots may only model parts of the body, for example, from the waist up. One of the advantages of creating humanoid robots is that they can interact with the human environment. Some assignments can be completed with wheeled-type mobile robots by giving a little touch of human behaviour, such as the robot arm. However, to interact with humans and be confused with many obstacles, humanoid robots have a distinct advantage in terms of creation. Below are examples of humanoid robots that have been developed in various technology industries and educational institutions. One example of humanoid robots that are often used is DARWIN-OP. DARWIN-OP (Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence - Open Platform) is an open-sourced miniature humanoid robot platform with a sophisticated high computational power, sensors, and dynamic motion capabilities developed and produced by robotics manufacturers Robotis in collaboration with Virginia Tech, Perdue University, and the University of Pennsylvania. This robot has 20 Degree of 2 Complete 2022, Vol. 3, No. 1, doi.org/10.52435/complete.v2i1.203 Freedom (DoF), which is thought to be enough to do m (...truncated)