Optimization of parametrised kicking motion for humanoid soccer player

This paper presents a detailed description of theoptimization process used to increase the kicking skills ofhumanoid players. The kicking movement consists of making astep forward to put the support foot next to the ball to kick, thento execute the kicking motion by rocking the leg that must strikethe ball. The rocking motion of the leg passes through threepositions; the first position is the leg being raised backward,the second is the leg in position of strike, and the third is theleg forward to sweep the ball. The optimization process is anevolution of skills parameters guided by a evaluation functionthat aims to send the ball as far as possible. To optimize the kicka rocking motion of the torso is also introduced. The parametersused for each one of the three kicking positions are the angleof the torso, the angle of the foot sole, the longitudinal and thevertical coordinates of the foot toe. Thanks to this technique itis possible to increase the distance of the kicked ball by 34%.