Multiobjective Control with Frictional Contacts

Abstract

Standing is a fundamental skill mastered by humans and animals alike. Although easy for adults, it requires careful and deliberate manipulation of contact forces. The variation in contact configuration (e.g., standing on one foot, on uneven ground, or while holding on for support) presents a difficult challenge for interactive simulation of humans and animals, especially while performing tasks in the presence of external disturbances. We describe an analytic approach for control of standing in three-dimensional simulations based upon local optimization. At any point in time, the control system solves a quadratic program to compute actuation by maximizing the performance of multiple motion objectives subject to constraints imposed by actuation limits and contact configuration. This formulation is suitable for interactive animation and it adapts to the proportions of any character model in any non-planar, frictional contact configuration.