Locomotion and haptic interfaces

Elective in Robotics/Control Problems in Robotics

(coordinator Prof. Marilena Vendittelli)

Module of

Locomotion and haptic interfaces (for VR exploration)

Prof. Alessandro De Luca
Dipartimento di Ingegneria informatica, automatica e gestionale Antonio Ruberti (DIAG)
Sapienza Università di Roma
Via Ariosto 25, 00185 Roma, Italy
office: A-210
tel: +39 06 77274 052
email: deluca [at] diag [dot] uniroma1 [dot] it

Academic year 2020-21 (second semester)

NOTICE FOR 2021-22. This module will no longer be taught from 2021-22, replaced by the new 3-credit module on Physical Human-Robot Interaction.

VERY IMPORTANT IN 2020-21. Please attend the first lectures of this module, starting with Tuesday, February 23, 2021, in order to get acquainted with the organization of the course. To book the presence in the classroom (room A5 of DIAG, building code RM102), see the Sapienza procedure. The Zoom link for remotely accessing the lectures is given below. Also, please register as soon as possible (before the start of lectures!) to the Google Group of this module in 2020/21.

VIDEO LECTURES. A large part of the lectures of the academic year 2019-20 has been video recorded off line (due to the Covid-19 sanitary emergency). These videos are linked in the Material section below, next to the associated slides, and are available in a playlist of my YouTube channel.

Material for this module
Google group
How to complete the credits for this module
Booking of exams

Aims: This module presents locomotion and haptic interfaces for VR exploration, giving special emphasis to control issues. It introduces in particular two haptic devices (Geomagic Touch and Cyberith Virtualizer/Oculus Rift) available in the DIAG Robotics Laboratory, with some applications. It summarizes also the research results obtained by our Robotics group (see here) within the European project Cyberwalk.

Detailed contents: General introduction to haptic and locomotion interfaces with several illustrative examples. Two specific hardware devices: the Geomatic Touch haptic interface; the Cyberith Virtualizer locomotion interface (with the Oculus Rift HMD). Possible applications of these interfaces. Design, construction, actuation, sensing, modelling, and system issues for two locomotion platforms for VR exploration, developed within the CyberWalk project: the CyberCarpet (ball-array) and the CyberWalk platform (2D, omni-directional). Control design and experimental validation for the CyberCarpet. Control design and experimental validation for a 1D treadmill. Control design, experimental validation, and perceptual evaluation for the 2D CyberWalk platform.

Prerequisites: This module has no strict prerequisites. However, it is suggested to have acquaintance with the basic topics of Robotics 1 and Robotics 2, or with those treated in Autonomous and Mobile Robotics.

ECTS credits for this module: 3 credits (out of 12 or 6 credits, respectively for Elective in Robotics or Control Problems in Robotics)

Lectures for this module

Remote access with Zoom: https://uniroma1.zoom.us/j/81172280536?pwd=UjhMb3pCQ0wzTjFBNVBmd2gvdHZ1dz09
You can access only if you join with your Sapienza institutional account (@studenti.uniroma1.it)

Period: first part of second semester (February - April 2021; 4 to 6 weeks)
Begin: Tuesday, February 23, 2021
End: Thursday, April 8, 2021

Schedule: [time zone: CET = UTC+1 until March 24, then CEST = UTC+2]

Tuesday	14:00-16:00 (room A5; DIAG, Via Ariosto 25)
Thursday	14:00-17:00 (room A5; DIAG, Via Ariosto 25)

Note: Room A5 has 15 seats available, according to the Covid-19 Phase 3 rules on social distance. For seat reservation, see the Sapienza procedure (the DIAG department in Via Ariosto 25 has building code RM102 of Sapienza).

Distribution of students according to the course of study:

2020-21: 26 students as Sapienza members of the Google group (total number and distribution in progress)
2019-20: 23 MARR (4 international), 8 MCER (2); Total: 31 students (21 present at first lecture, 30 members of the Google group)
2018-19: 15 MARR (8 international), 6 MCER (6); Total: 21 students (16 present at first lecture)
2017-18: 26 MARR (3 international), 7 MCER (2), 1 PhD Sapienza; Total: 34 students (30 present at first lecture)
2016-17: 19 MARR (4 international), 2 MCER (2), 1 Erasmus (international); Total: 22 students (21 present at first lecture)
2015-16: 8 MARR, 1 MCER, 1 PhD ABRO; Total: 10 students (10 present at first lecture)
2014-15: 9 MARR; Total: 9 students (8 present at first lecture)
2013-14: module not offered
2012-13: 19 MARR (7 international), 1 Erasmus (international), 1 PhD student; Total: 21 students (21 present at first lecture)
2011-12: 17 MARR (4 international); Total: 17 students (14 present at first lecture)
2010-11: 14 MARR (5 international), 5 MELR, 2 MSIR; Total: 21 students (15 present at first lecture)

Material for this module

Teaching material (Videorecordings of the lectures, PDF of the slides, video clips, technical papers, etc.) is available hereafter:

#1 Haptic&LocomotionInterfaces_Intro.pdf (68 slides; last update on March 9, 2021)

The original video clips in the presentation are available below (in case of troubles in viewing a clip, use your browser command to download the file).

26 videos to slides #1 (same order as in the slides)

ImmersiveTouch (.wmv, 35MB) - Immersive Touch [slide #11]
Telemanipulation_Robocast (.mpg, 8.7MB) - SIRSLab, University of Siena (D. Prattichizzo) [slide #14]
Geomagic_KUKA_NeedleSteering (.mp4, 39MB) - DIAG Robotics Lab [slide #15]
Bimanual_MIROrobot (.mov, 93MB) - DLR, Oberpfaffenhofen [slide #16]
HapticAugmentedReality_RoMan10 (.mp4, 18.8MB) - SIRSLab, University of Siena (S. Scheggi, G. Salvietti, D. Prattichizzo) [slide #23]
Bilateral_Teleoperation_of_Multiple_UAVs_with_Decentralized_Connectivity_Maintenance (.mp4, 10.9MB) - Max Planck Inst. Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen (P. Robuffo Giordano) [slide #24]
TeleKyb_Framework (.mp4, 7.1MB) - Max Planck Inst. Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen (A. Franchi) [slide #25]
Berkeley Bionics Human Exoskeleton, available on YouTube [slide #30]
ICRA10_KUKATitan_Ferrari (.mov, 13.9MB) - Max Planck Inst. Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen (P. Robuffo Giordano) [slide #34]
SarcosTreadport (.mp4, 3.6MB) on KSL 5 TV; University of Utah (J. Hollerbach) [slide #48]
TorusTreadmill (.mp4, 280KB) - VR Lab, University of Tsukuba (H. Iwata) [slide #52]
New_TorusTreadmill_2011 (.mov, 11.7MB) - VR Lab, University of Tsukuba (H. Iwata) [slide #52]
ODT_May05 (.wmv, 840KB) - Virtual Space Devices (D. Carmein) [slide #53]
ODT_May06 (.wmv, 520KB) - Virtual Space Devices (D. Carmein) [slide #53]
VS_Presentation (.mpeg, 50.8MB) - Virtusphere [slide #56]
Cyberith Virtualizer Demonstration (.mov, 10.1MB) - edited from Cyberith.com [slide #57]
Cyberith Virtualizer and Virtuix Omni platforms (.avi, 13.5MB) - edited from Cyberith.com and Virtuix.com [slide #58]
First_walking_on_Cyberith (.mov, 2.7MB) - DIAG Robotics Lab [slide #59]
Cyberith_Nao_first (.mov, 4.8MB) - DIAG Robotics Lab [slide #59]
Infinadeck @ CES 2016 (.mp4, 13.4MB) - Infineon.com [slide #60]
Infinadeck V3 Treadmill Teaser (.mp4, 8.3MB) - Infineon.com [slide #60]
VR2005_BAT_Simulation (.avi, 26.6MB) - Kogakuin University [slide #62]
VR2005_BAT Experiment (.avi, 23MB) - Kogakuin University [slide #62]
CirculaFloor (.mp4, 8.8MB) - VR Lab, University of Tsukuba (H. Iwata) [slide #64]
CF_Siggraph04 (.mp4, 8.8MB) - VR Lab, University of Tsukuba (H. Iwata) [slide #64]
PoweredShoes_Siggraph06 (.mpeg, 30.8MB) - VR Lab, University of Tsukuba (H. Iwata) [slide #65]

#2 MotionControl_CyberwalkPlatforms_PartI.pdf (51 slides; last update on March 9, 2021) (new!)

## MotionControl_CyberwalkPlatforms_PartI_2019-20.pdf (48 slides; March 13, 2020; one-to-one vith accompanying video lectures recorded in 2019/20)

Videolecture CyberWalk Platforms - Part I_1 of March 12, 2020 (1h42'06", slides 1-20, 2GB) on my YouTube channel, posted on March 12, 2020
Videolecture CyberWalk Platforms - Part I_2 of March 17, 2020 (1h26'20", slides 21-48, 350MB) on my YouTube channel, posted on March 17, 2020

Note. Video clips in the above videolectures are not shown in their full quality because of file compression. The original video clips are available below (in case of troubles in viewing a clip, use your browser command to download the file).

15 videos to slides #2 (same order as in the slides)

smoot_feedfw_datiETH (.avi, 2MB) [slide #2, repeated on slide #27]
MVI_7458_good (.avi, 2.4MB) [slide #8]
MVI_7477_increasingspeed (.avi, 13MB) [slide #8]
walker_still_type1 (.avi, 9.5MB) [slide #11]
experiment5 (.mpg, 6.5MB) [slide #26]
experiment4 (.mpg, 6.6MB) [slide #26]
walker_still (.avi, 2.7MB) [slide #31]
walker_straight_line_no_ff (.avi, 5.1MB) [slide #33]
walker_straight_line_ff (.avi, 4.1MB) [slide #35]
walker_circ_path_no_ff (.avi, 7.8MB) [slide #38]
walker_circ_path_ff (.avi, 8.6MB) [slide #38]
walker_square_path_no_ff (.avi, 6.5MB) [slide #40]
walker_square_path_ff (.avi, 8.5MB) [slide #40]
ICRA07_CyberCarpet_singleview (.avi, 1.7MB) [slide #44]
quadrato_completo_umanoide (.avi, 5.3MB) [slide #46]

#3 MotionControl_CyberwalkPlatforms_PartII.pdf (42 slides; last update on March 20, 2020)

Videolecture CyberWalk Platforms - Part II_1 of March 19, 2020 (1h24'35", slides 1-21, 229MB) on my YouTube channel, posted on March 20, 2020
Videolecture CyberWalk Platforms - Part II_2 of March 19, 2020 (1h02'18", slides 22-42, 184MB) on my YouTube channel, posted on March 20, 2020

14 videos to slides #3 (same order as in the slides)

CW_Mechanics (.mp4, 2.6MB) [slide #8]
CW_Clothoids (.mp4, 3.7MB) [slide #9]
CW_TUM_to_MPI (.mp4, 2.4MB) [slide #9]
Movie1 (.mp4, 43.9MB) [slide #21]
Circular_Treadmill (.mov, 15MB) [slide #22]
CW_CityEngine (.mp4, 6.5MB) [slide #24]
projects_cyberwalk_preintegration.01.edited (.avi, 26.9MB) [slide #27]
video2 (.avi, 1.1MB) [slide #34]
Cyberwalk-o_ton (.mov, 5.6MB) [slide #35]
CW_National-Geographics (.mov, 17.8MB) [slide #36]
MVI_7625 (.avi, 26MB) [slide #37]
CW_gain_orientation (.avi, 0.9MB) [slide #39]
CW_gain_orientation_Paolo (.avi, 1.8MB) [slide #39]
CW_IROS09_new (.avi, 4.6MB) [slide #40]

#4 Geomagic Touch (53 slides; last update on April 6, 2020)

Videolecture Geomagic Touch - Part 1 of April 2, 2020 (1h50'27", slides 1-45, 319MB) on my YouTube channel, posted on April 6, 2020
Videolecture Geomagic Touch - Part 2 of April 2, 2020 (20'26", slides 46-53, 53MB) on my YouTube channel, posted on April 6, 2020

Auxiliary materials to #4

OpenHaptics Toolkit (by 3DSystems): Programmers Guide (version 3.3.0) and API Reference Guide (version 3.4.0)
Omni Bundle (by Quanser): Student Workbook (related demo programs can be downloaded from the Quanser web site at Simulink Courseware)

Note. Video clips in the above videolectures are not shown in their full quality because of file compression.The original video clips in the presentation are available below (in case of troubles in viewing a clip, use your browser command to download the file).

15 videos to slides #4 (same order as in the slides)

SensAble PHANTOM Omni Haptic Device In Action! (available on YouTube) [slide #7]
intro-geomagic (.mp4, 8.2MB) [slide #8]
simple-view-ext-and-sim (.mp4, 2.1MB) [slide #8]
Autocalibrated Gravity Compensation (.mp4, 6.1MB) - SIRSLab, University of Siena (A. Formaglio, S. Mulatto, D. Prattichizzo) [slide #26]
penetration (.mp4, 44.3MB) [slide #30]
box_presentation (.mov, 54.8MB) [slide #35]
RCM (.mov, 121.5MB) [slide #35]
movie_needle_and_ham (.mov, 5.1MB) [slide #40]
Radiologist_Expert_Bone (.mp4, 57.6MB) [slide #43]
portable-da-vinci-video (.mp4, 5.4MB) [slide #45]
Rigid_no_haptic (.mov, 560KB) [slide #49]
Rigid_with_haptic (.mov, 560KMB) [slide #49]
Rigid_no_haptic_Demo (.mp4, 7.1MB) [slide #51]
Rigid_with_haptic_Demo (.mp4, 6.6MB) [slide #51]
Main_Demo_Rigid_with_haptic (.mp4, 55.3MB) [slide #52]

Google group

A Google group has been created in 2020-21 to post questions about the content of the lectures, exchange information and discuss the topics of the module in general. New registrations are not accepted after the end of the lectures. Groups of past years are still active (but no new registrations are considered as well).

URL: https://groups.google.com/a/diag.uniroma1.it/d/forum/lhi_module_2020-21
Email: lhi_module_2020-21@diag.uniroma1.it
Access: Restricted to Sapienza students only. Please request admission at the URL using ONLY your institutional email address @studenti.uniroma1.it. When applying be sure to enter i) your first and last name as "Display Name", and ii) your Master program [Control Engineering (MCER) or AI & Robotics (MARR)], the course in your study plan [Control Problems in Robotics (CPR) or Elective in Robotics (EiR)] and any other useful information about your current status, as "Reason for joining".

How to complete the credits for this module

Students who have attended (in the classroom and/or remotely) at least 2/3 of the lectures can pass this module by either giving a presentation with slides on a certain topic (based on technical papers) or developing a short project (in general, involving simulations or experiments). Work can be done alone or in groups, typically by two students for presentations and three students for short projects. Presentations and projects should be completed as early as possible, but no later than by the end of December (of the solar year of attendance).

Note that in order to obtain the 12 credits of Elective in Robotics, it is necessary to complete all four modules (each of 3 credits). Altogether, each student should give two (2) presentations and complete two (2) short projects. For more details, see the main page of Elective in Robotics.

Similarly, in order to obtain the 6 credits of Control Problems in Robotics, each student has to complete two modules (each of 3 credits), giving one presentation and one short project. For more details, see the main page of Control Problems in Robotics.

Booking of exams

Please check the information in the main page of the Elective in Robotics or Control Problems in Robotics courses. In order to get the final grade you only need one registration. Book the exam when you have acquired the credits of all modules.

Last update: September 17, 2021