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Pepper humanoid robot module for mc_rtc

This package contains a software representation, or a robot module, of Pepper humanoid robot platform. This robot module is used by mc_rtc framework to realize control of Pepper robot in simulation or in experiments with real platform.

Required dependencies

• mc_rtc
• pepper_description

Build instructions

git clone https://github.com/jrl-umi3218/mc_pepper
cd mc_pepper
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make
sudo make install

Robot devices

This robot module allows to interact with some robot devices from mc_rtc controller, namely:

• Speakers - command a word or a sentence to say
• TouchSensor - detect when mobile base bumper is touched
• VisualDisplay - set tablet screen image

Robot module types

Depending on the use-case, users might prefer to use one of the following implemented types of the Pepper robot module:

• Pepper - moving base, hand joints included (default module)
• PepperFixed - fixed base, hand joints included
• PepperNoHands - moving base, hand joints not included
• PepperFixedNoHands - fixed base, hand joints not included
• PepperExtraHardware - moving base, hand joints and extra hardware included
• PepperExtraHardwareNoHands - moving base, hand joints not included, extra hardware included
• PepperFixedExtraHardwareNoHands - fixed base, hand joints not included, extra hardware included

Example of custom tasks and constraints

In mc_rtc controller two main elements for robot control are

• Tasks - objectives, what robot should do the best it can
• Constraints - limits, that robot should always respect

Many tasks and constraints are already implemented in mc_rtc. For instance PostureTask, CoMTask, EndEffectorTask, KinematicsConstraint, ContactConstraint etc. However, in some cases it might be desirable to design and implement new custom tasks or constraints not yet implemented in mc_rtc. Such new tasks and constraint might be specific to a robot, use-case or research topic.

In this repository, we provide an example of a custom CoMRelativeBodyTask, that allows to specify desired Pepper CoM target relative to the robot mobile base frame (as opposed to world frame in mc_rtc CoMTask). Implementation of this custom task can be found in the tasks folder.

An implementation of a custom BoundedAccelerationConstr constraint, to impose acceleration bounds for Pepper mobile base, can be found in the constraints folder.

How these custom tasks and constraints are loaded and used in a sample mc_rtc controller can be see in PepperFSMController.

In an analogous way, many other novel tasks and constraints can be implemented and tested

Next steps

Now that mc_pepper is successfully installed, you can use PepperFSMController project as a staring point or an example on how to write your own mc_rtc controller for Pepper robot.

Once your controller is ready to be tested, you can use mc_naoqi interface to run and visualize your controller in simulation or to run your controller on a real Pepper humanoid robot platform.