ART: Avatar Robotics Telepresence—the future of humanoid material handling loco-manipulation

Material handling loco-manipulation is heavily present in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts. Consider a scenario requiring human expertise to transcend the physical location of the human body; an approach—harnessing the innately long-range and precise abilities of robotic Avatar technologies—was successfully applied to material handling and loco-manipulation tasks, proving that humanoids may play an integral role in future disaster relief. Typically, first responders, such as firefighters and/or paramedics, must carry, push, pull, and handle objects, facilitating the transportation of goods. Hence, researchers have sought to enable full-sized humanoid robots to perform such essential material handling tasks. This work aims to tackle current limitations in humanoid object interaction capabilities, specifically with common objects such as carts, wheelbarrows, etc. Furthermore, this article compiles many methods to ensure stable gait during cart loco-manipulation. The examined objects range from simple carts (such as rolling and utility carts) to challenging carts (such as wheelbarrows). Thus, the authors present a comprehensive approach to address some of the most convoluted material handling and loco-manipulation challenges in the field of humanoid robotics. Finally, promising results are showcased when ART (Avatar Robotics Telepresence) and humanoid embodiment are applied in the context of loco-manipulation and material handling.