Simi, Riccardo Kristen (University of Pisa and Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia), Zambella, Grazia (Automation and Control Institute, TU Wien), Egle, Tobias (Automation and Control Institute, TU Wien), Bicchi, Antonio (Universita' di Pisa), Ott, Christian (TU Wien)

Extending Humanoids DCM-Based Walking to Push Heavy Objects While Walking

Scheduled for presentation during the Regular Session "Bio-inspired & Humanoid Robotics" (FrBT5), Friday, July 18, 2025, 14:20−14:40, Room 109

Joint 10th IFAC Symposium on Mechatronic Systems and 14th Symposium on Robotics, July 15-18, 2025, Paris, France

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on August 2, 2025

Abstract

Pushing large and heavy objects while walking is an important skill for humanoid robots to effectively assist humans with daily tasks. However, friction, high interaction forces, and the robot’s intrinsic limitations make performing this task challenging. This paper presents a Divergent Component of Motion (DCM)-based walking planning algorithm designed to account for the external forces the robot must exert while pushing a heavy object along a desired trajectory. The proposed algorithm is then combined with an inverse dynamics whole-body control to allow the humanoid robot to perform the task. Results obtained in simulation on the humanoid BRUCE prove the effectiveness of the proposed framework.