Traditional humanoid robots using rotary joints face issues such as high motor force demands during sustained standing, resulting in overheating during prolonged operation. To address these challenges, we propose a humanoid robot equipped with planetary roller screw actuators at the knee joints. A detailed kinematic model is developed to accurately relate linear actuator displacement to knee joint rotation, providing the foundation for effective control. Building on this model, we train a reinforcement learning policy using the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) algorithm within the NVIDIA Isaac Gym environment. The control architecture adopts an asymmetric actor-critic design, leveraging privileged information during training to improve learning efficiency. The trained policy is first validated in simulation using MuJoCo and then deployed on real hardware. To support real-world operation, a hybrid control framework is implemented, combining torque-based control for rotary joints with position control for the roller screw-driven knee joints. Experimental results confirm the robot’s ability to maintain stable, accurate, and consistent gait performance over extended periods.

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Humanoid Locomotion with Roller Screw-Driven Knee Joints: Design, Control, and Deployment

  • Yuchen Lin,
  • Tian Xia,
  • Mengdi Wang,
  • Zhenwei Zhang,
  • Honglei Lu,
  • Tao Ding,
  • Yuhao Zhang,
  • Xingwei Zhao,
  • Bo Tao

摘要

Traditional humanoid robots using rotary joints face issues such as high motor force demands during sustained standing, resulting in overheating during prolonged operation. To address these challenges, we propose a humanoid robot equipped with planetary roller screw actuators at the knee joints. A detailed kinematic model is developed to accurately relate linear actuator displacement to knee joint rotation, providing the foundation for effective control. Building on this model, we train a reinforcement learning policy using the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) algorithm within the NVIDIA Isaac Gym environment. The control architecture adopts an asymmetric actor-critic design, leveraging privileged information during training to improve learning efficiency. The trained policy is first validated in simulation using MuJoCo and then deployed on real hardware. To support real-world operation, a hybrid control framework is implemented, combining torque-based control for rotary joints with position control for the roller screw-driven knee joints. Experimental results confirm the robot’s ability to maintain stable, accurate, and consistent gait performance over extended periods.