Disney’s Humanoid Robot learns to Play, Catch, Juggle and emote

Have you ever played with a cyborg? Well you can! The Disney Research team has invented a humanoid animatron that plays a life-like game of catch, to initiate direct interaction theme park guests and robots. An external camera system (ASUS Xtion PRO LIVE)  is used to locate balls and a Kalman filter to predict ball destination and timing. The robot’s hand and joint-space are calibrated to the vision coordinate system using a least-squares technique, such that the hand can be positioned to the predicted location.

 Juggling (three ball cascade pattern, one hand for each partner) is also achieved by speeding up the catching/throwing cycle. The research team also programmed the robot with head-tracking capabilities and expressions of disappointment for the times it missed a catch.

However, catching and throwing back objects is one form of physical engagement that still maintains a safe distance between the robot and participants.

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