Terrain Consistent Reference-Guided RL for Humanoid Navigation Autonomy

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Compton, William D., Olkin, Zachary, Ames, Aaron D.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Compton, William D.
Olkin, Zachary
Ames, Aaron D.
author_facet Compton, William D.
Olkin, Zachary
Ames, Aaron D.
contents We present a method for training reference-guided, perceptive reinforcement learning locomotion policies for humanoid robots in which reference trajectories are modulated in training to be consistent with terrain geometry. Aiming to deploy our method with standard navigation autonomy infrastructure, we synthesize SE(2)-controllable reference trajectories inside the RL training loop, projecting desired footsteps onto valid footholds and adjusting swing-foot and center-of-mass trajectories to match the terrain. The resulting policy exposes a clean SE(2) velocity interface compatible with standard navigation planners. In simulation, environmentally-conditioned references significantly improve reference tracking performance compared to environment agnostic references. On hardware, we integrate the policy with an MPC + control barrier function planner and demonstrate long-horizon (>70m) closed-loop autonomous navigation on the Unitree G1 through outdoor environments containing rough terrain and consecutive flights of stairs, with all sensing and computation onboard.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_15517
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Terrain Consistent Reference-Guided RL for Humanoid Navigation Autonomy
Compton, William D.
Olkin, Zachary
Ames, Aaron D.
Robotics
Systems and Control
We present a method for training reference-guided, perceptive reinforcement learning locomotion policies for humanoid robots in which reference trajectories are modulated in training to be consistent with terrain geometry. Aiming to deploy our method with standard navigation autonomy infrastructure, we synthesize SE(2)-controllable reference trajectories inside the RL training loop, projecting desired footsteps onto valid footholds and adjusting swing-foot and center-of-mass trajectories to match the terrain. The resulting policy exposes a clean SE(2) velocity interface compatible with standard navigation planners. In simulation, environmentally-conditioned references significantly improve reference tracking performance compared to environment agnostic references. On hardware, we integrate the policy with an MPC + control barrier function planner and demonstrate long-horizon (>70m) closed-loop autonomous navigation on the Unitree G1 through outdoor environments containing rough terrain and consecutive flights of stairs, with all sensing and computation onboard.
title Terrain Consistent Reference-Guided RL for Humanoid Navigation Autonomy
topic Robotics
Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.15517