Design of a Humanoid Robot Eye: Models and Experiments

Eye movements have the goal of optimizing visual perception, therefore the investigation of eye motion strategies play an important role in the design of humanoid robot eye systems. Saccades in humans and primates is a significant class of ocular motions, which obey the so called Listing's Law, which constrains the admissible eye's angular velocities and ensure zero torsion during motion. In this paper we present a model of the eye plant proving that Listing's Law implementation is strongly related with the geometry of the eye and its actuation system (extraocular muscles). The proposed model has been used to provide the guidelines for the design of a tendon driven humanoid robot eye. Experimental tests, presented in this paper, validate the model by performing a quantitative comparison of the performance of the robot eye with physiological data measured in humans and primates during saccades.