  This work presents a system to benchmark humanoid posture control and balance
performances under perturbed conditions. The specific benchmarking scenario
consists, for example, of balancing upright stance while performing voluntary
movements on moving surfaces. The system includes a motion platform used to
provide the perturbation, an innovative body-tracking system suitable for
robots, humans and exoskeletons, control software and a set of predefined
perturbations, a humanoid robot used to test algorithms, and analysis software
providing state of the art data analysis used to provide quantitative measures
of performance. In order to provide versatility, the design of the system is
oriented to modularity: all its components can be replaced or extended
according to experimental needs, adding additional perturbation profiles, new
evaluation principles, and alternative tracking systems. It will be possible to
use the system with different kinds of robots and exoskeletons as well as for
human experiments aimed at gaining insights into human balance capabilities.
