Concept Evaluation of a Reflex Inspired Ball Handling Device for Autonomous Soccer Robots

This paper presents a concept evaluation for a passive ball handling device for autonomous robots that enables the robot to ”feel” the ball. A combination of a capacitive and a pressure sensor delivers accurate information of the ball position and movement within the ball handling device - even without touching it. Inspired by the human reflex the sensor values are evaluated to implement a low-level based control loop. This should enable the robot to make minor movement corrections to the overall path calculated by the high-level control system.