College of Engineering

Tristan Marshall

College of Engineering Electrical Engineering

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Youngmoo Kim Electrical & Computer Engineering

Richard Vallett Co-Mentor

Humanoid Robotics Simulation

One of the issues facing the creation and programming of robots is approachability. Even the simplest projects, like moving one motor, can be challenging to the beginner. That project only involves one degree of freedom, meaning the robot can only move in one axis. The problem of complexity is multiplied in humanoid robots, such as the ExCITe Center’s HUBO, which can have dozens of degrees of freedom. HUBO is a sophisticated, world-class robot that stands about four feet tall and has 41 degrees of freedom. Thus, simulators are often used for movement planning and visualization. Simulations, virtual robots in this case, are used to determine if a program is possible and safe to run on the robot. Accuracy is important to prevent expensive damage. The current simulator was created in 2008 and lacks important physics features for real-world suitability. To remedy this, I am developing a new simulator in Unity, a platform used for creating video games that involves features such as realistic physics, including gravity, collisions, and friction. Another purpose for the simulator is to provide people with access to a realistic virtual humanoid robot. As multi-platform software, Unity allows this simulator to run on most computers.