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Main Authors: Chen, Fu, Wan, Rui, Liu, Peidong, Zheng, Nanxing, Zhou, Bo
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.07049
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author Chen, Fu
Wan, Rui
Liu, Peidong
Zheng, Nanxing
Zhou, Bo
author_facet Chen, Fu
Wan, Rui
Liu, Peidong
Zheng, Nanxing
Zhou, Bo
contents Bipedal robots, due to their anthropomorphic design, offer substantial potential across various applications, yet their control is hindered by the complexity of their structure. Currently, most research focuses on proprioception-based methods, which lack the capability to overcome complex terrain. While visual perception is vital for operation in human-centric environments, its integration complicates control further. Recent reinforcement learning (RL) approaches have shown promise in enhancing legged robot locomotion, particularly with proprioception-based methods. However, terrain adaptability, especially for bipedal robots, remains a significant challenge, with most research focusing on flat-terrain scenarios. In this paper, we introduce a novel mixture of experts teacher-student network RL strategy, which enhances the performance of teacher-student policies based on visual inputs through a simple yet effective approach. Our method combines terrain selection strategies with the teacher policy, resulting in superior performance compared to traditional models. Additionally, we introduce an alignment loss between the teacher and student networks, rather than enforcing strict similarity, to improve the student's ability to navigate diverse terrains. We validate our approach experimentally on the Limx Dynamic P1 bipedal robot, demonstrating its feasibility and robustness across multiple terrain types.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_07049
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle VMTS: Vision-Assisted Teacher-Student Reinforcement Learning for Multi-Terrain Locomotion in Bipedal Robots
Chen, Fu
Wan, Rui
Liu, Peidong
Zheng, Nanxing
Zhou, Bo
Robotics
Bipedal robots, due to their anthropomorphic design, offer substantial potential across various applications, yet their control is hindered by the complexity of their structure. Currently, most research focuses on proprioception-based methods, which lack the capability to overcome complex terrain. While visual perception is vital for operation in human-centric environments, its integration complicates control further. Recent reinforcement learning (RL) approaches have shown promise in enhancing legged robot locomotion, particularly with proprioception-based methods. However, terrain adaptability, especially for bipedal robots, remains a significant challenge, with most research focusing on flat-terrain scenarios. In this paper, we introduce a novel mixture of experts teacher-student network RL strategy, which enhances the performance of teacher-student policies based on visual inputs through a simple yet effective approach. Our method combines terrain selection strategies with the teacher policy, resulting in superior performance compared to traditional models. Additionally, we introduce an alignment loss between the teacher and student networks, rather than enforcing strict similarity, to improve the student's ability to navigate diverse terrains. We validate our approach experimentally on the Limx Dynamic P1 bipedal robot, demonstrating its feasibility and robustness across multiple terrain types.
title VMTS: Vision-Assisted Teacher-Student Reinforcement Learning for Multi-Terrain Locomotion in Bipedal Robots
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.07049