No falls, no resets: Reliable humanoid behavior in the DARPA robotics challenge

Abstract

We describe Team WPI-CMU's approach to the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC), focusing on our strategy to avoid failures that required physical human intervention. We implemented safety features in our controller to detect potential catastrophic failures, stop the current behavior, and allow remote intervention by a human supervisor. Our safety methods and operator interface worked: we avoided catastrophe and remote operators could safely recover from difficult situations. We were the only team in the DRC Finals that attempted all tasks, scored points (14/16), did not require physical human intervention (a reset), and did not fall in the two missions during the two days of tests. We also had the most consistent pair of runs. Much of the paper discusses lessons learned from the DRC.