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. 2022 Jan 21;22(3):816.
doi: 10.3390/s22030816.

Carved Turn Control with Gate Vision Recognition of a Humanoid Robot for Giant Slalom Skiing on Ski Slopes

Cheonyu Park  1 , Baekseok Kim  1 , Yitaek Kim  1 , Younseal Eum  1 , Hyunjong Song  2 , Dongkuk Yoon  3 , Jeongin Moon  4 , Jeakweon Han  5
Affiliations

Carved Turn Control with Gate Vision Recognition of a Humanoid Robot for Giant Slalom Skiing on Ski Slopes

Cheonyu Park et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

The performance of humanoid robots is improving, owing in part to their participation in robot games such as the DARPA Robotics Challenge. Along with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, a Skiing Robot Competition was held in which humanoid robots participated autonomously in a giant slalom alpine skiing competition. The robots were required to transit through many red or blue gates on the ski slope to reach the finish line. The course was relatively short at 100 m long and had an intermediate-level rating. A 1.23 m tall humanoid ski robot, 'DIANA', was developed for this skiing competition. As a humanoid robot that mimics humans, the goal was to descend the slope as fast as possible, so the robot was developed to perform a carved turn motion. The carved turn was difficult to balance compared to other turn methods. Therefore, ZMP control, which could secure the posture stability of the biped robot, was applied. Since skiing takes place outdoors, it was necessary to ensure recognition of the flags in various weather conditions. This was ensured using deep learning-based vision recognition. Thus, the performance of the humanoid robot DIANA was established using the carved turn in an experiment on an actual ski slope. The ultimate vision for humanoid robots is for them to naturally blend into human society and provide necessary services to people. Previously, there was no way for a full-sized humanoid robot to move on a snowy mountain. In this study, a humanoid robot that transcends this limitation was realized.

Keywords: ZMP control; carved turn; humanoid; ski robot; vision recognition.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Skiing robot DIANA.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Three-dimensional design of skiing robot DIANA.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Design of DIANA’s sensors.
Figure 4
Figure 4
DIANA’s waterproof design.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Electrical component diagram of skiing robot DIANA.
Figure 6
Figure 6
The correct result of recognition (a), the incorrect result of recognition (b) and the result graph of training (c).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Motion and role of each turning section for DIANA’s carved turns.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Top view of ski slope.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Curvature radius.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Diagram of DIANA’s software structure.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Flow chart for DIANA commander.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Simulation process.
Figure 13
Figure 13
DIANA simulation path (left) and DIANA’s motion with ZMP (right).
Figure 14
Figure 14
ZMPy variants according to time.
Figure 15
Figure 15
A view of the slope (left) and a plan view (right).
Figure 16
Figure 16
Recognition result of skiing DIANA.
Figure 17
Figure 17
The scene wherein DIANA travelled down the slope.
Figure 18
Figure 18
Comparison of ZMPy based on simulation and field test results.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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