This work presents a study of the human/humanoid locomotion system and a method for adaptation of the human motion capture data (HMCD) for driving a humanoid robot. The analysis uses the previously defined concept of the zero moment point (ZMP) which provides a basis for the adaptation of the HMCD. An appropriate model of the robot foot, in agreement with the HMCD, is proposed. This model is used to plan a desired ZMP trajectory. A scheme for approximately matching the actual ZMP trajectory to the desired ZMP trajectory, through periodic joint motion correction at selected joints, is discussed. A method for resolving the ground reaction forces at the foot is also proposed.

This paper proposes an approach for generating a physically consistent trajectory from a few key frames of flight motion of a human-like multibody system. Systems in flight are subject to angular momentum conservation, a nonholonomic constraint, and linear momentum conservation. In the proposed approach, motion of one of the links is first generated independently. The motion of all other links is planned appropriately to satisfy the constraints of motion. This work has potential applications ranging from designing dynamic animations to planning free flight motion for humanoid robots.