Entertainment robots in theme park environments typically do not allow for physical interaction and contact with guests. However, catching and throwing back objects is one form of physical engagement that still maintains a safe distance between the robot and participants. Using a theme park type animatronic humanoid robot, we developed a test bed for a throwing and catching game scenario. We use an external camera system (ASUS Xtion PRO LIVE) 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. Successful catches are thrown back two and a half meters forward to the participant, and missed catches are detected to trigger suitable animations that indicate failure. Human to robot partner juggling (three ball cascade pattern, one hand for each partner) is also achieved by speeding up the catching/throwing cycle. We tested the throwing/catching system on six participants (one child and five adults, including one elderly), and the juggling system on three skilled jugglers.
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机译：主题公园环境中的娱乐机器人通常不允许与客人进行身体互动和联系。然而，捕捉和抛出物体是一种物理参与的一种形式，仍然保持机器人和参与者之间的安全距离。使用主题公园类型的Animatronic Humanoid Robot，我们开发了一个试验台，用于投掷和捕获游戏场景。我们使用外部相机系统（华硕Xtiion Pro Live）来定位球和卡尔曼滤波器以预测球目的地和定时。使用最小二乘技术，机器人的手和关节空间被校准到视觉坐标系，使得手可以定位到预测位置。成功的渔获物被抛回两米向参与者前进，并检测错过的捕获捕获，以触发指示失败的合适动画。通过加速捕集/投掷循环，还可以实现人类到机器人合作伙伴玩杂耍（三个球级联模式，每只伴侣的一只手）。我们在六位参与者（一个孩子和五名成年人）和包括一名老年人）的投掷/捕捞系统测试，以及三位熟练的戏耍者的杂耍系统。
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