Humanoid robotics, as described by the authors, is aimed at developing robots that may:

(1) Perform actions within human environments as they are (without further changes to accommodate the mechanical capacities of the robot);

(2) Use human tools as they are--again without any modification to facilitate robotic actions; or

(3) Have the external appearance of a human being.

The aforementioned points involve many complex aspects, and this work focuses on robotic walking--the physics, mathematics, and computational implementation involved. The computational implementation uses MATLAB, although the authors mention that any object-oriented language should do for the algorithms, including C++ and Java.

It is indeed a textbook, for a careful, well-explained (albeit brief) description is given of the physics, like the angular momentum of joints, and torque in links, and above all, the foundation of walking, which is the zero moment point, for equilibrium of the exerted pressures of the floor against the contact surfaces (described within a support polygon) of the robot while walking. As for mathematics, rotation and Jacobian matrices are mentioned, among other suitable mathematical aspects. Concerning algorithms, the movement is described, for example, as a tree of actions, rooted in the body, and going through the required connections, until, say, the movement of a foot is reached, all within the context of balancing the whole robot.

Advanced aspects of whole-body movement, still related to walking, are mentioned, like standing up after a fall, or dancing, or reaching for an object under a table. Torque sensors, motors with little backlash and other hardware issues, are mentioned but not described in further detail, although references to them are given (as they are for other theoretical aspects not covered in this book).

I very much enjoyed reading this very understandable book, and it is very suitable for students and researchers wishing to complement their studies with other aspects of humanoid robotics, like those presented in Corke’s book [1]. It can also be read on its own as a continuation of a course on mathematical mechanics.