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Benchmarking Human Likeness of Bipedal Robot Locomotion: State of the Art and Future Trends

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Book cover Metrics of Sensory Motor Coordination and Integration in Robots and Animals

Part of the book series: Cognitive Systems Monographs ((COSMOS,volume 36))

Abstract

The difficulty of defining standard benchmarks for human likeness is a well-know problem in bipedal robotics. This chapter reviews methods and criteria for the assessment of the sensorimotor mechanisms involved in human walking and posture. We focused on the potential of the reviewed methods to be used as benchmarks for human-like locomotion of bipedal robots. For walking conditions, several criteria and methods related to dynamic similarity, passivity and dynamicity, static stability, and energy consumption have been identified. As for standing functions, we identified the most relevant features characterizing the human postural sensorimotor mechanisms, and presented the experimental protocols currently used to evaluate the human-like robotic performance. Furthermore, we discussed how the current robotic competitions such as RoboCup and DARPA Robotics Challenges can contribute to the identification of relevant benchmarks. Finally, we speculated about the importance of international consensus on the quantitative definition of human likeness, and suggested some future actions for improving collaboration and standardization within the scientific community.

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Acknowledgements

This research activity has been founded by the European Seventh Framework Programme FP7-ICT-2011-9, under the grant agreement no 60069 - H2R “Integrative Approach for the Emergence of Human-like Robot Locomotion”.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioengineering Group (GBIO), Spanish National Research Center (CSIC), Madrid, Spain

    Diego Torricelli & Jose L. Pons

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Rahman S. M. Mizanoor, Maarten Weckx, Glenn Mathijssen, Bram Vanderborght & Dirk Lefeber

  3. Neurology, Neurozentrum, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Vittorio Lippi & Thomas Mergner

Authors
  1. Diego Torricelli
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  2. Rahman S. M. Mizanoor
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  3. Vittorio Lippi
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  4. Maarten Weckx
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  5. Glenn Mathijssen
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  6. Bram Vanderborght
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  7. Thomas Mergner
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  8. Dirk Lefeber
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  9. Jose L. Pons
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego Torricelli .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biorobotics, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy

    Fabio Bonsignorio

  2. Intelligent Systems Division, Manipulation and Mobility Systems Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA

    Elena Messina

  3. Robotic Intelligence Laboratory, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Universidad Jaume I, Castellón de la Plana, Spain

    Angel P. del Pobil

  4. Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    John Hallam

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Torricelli, D. et al. (2020). Benchmarking Human Likeness of Bipedal Robot Locomotion: State of the Art and Future Trends. In: Bonsignorio, F., Messina, E., del Pobil, A., Hallam, J. (eds) Metrics of Sensory Motor Coordination and Integration in Robots and Animals. Cognitive Systems Monographs, vol 36. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14126-4_8

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