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Chapter 15: Sim-to-Real Transfer for Humanoid Robots

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Fill in content from specs/001-physical-ai-book-specs/spec.md lines 1324-1390. Use Chapter 11 (11-voice-to-action.mdx) as formatting reference.

Overview​

TODO: Add overview paragraph introducing sim-to-real transfer (spec.md lines 1326-1328)

Target Audience: Developers deploying simulated systems to hardware.

Learning Objectives​

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. TODO: Add learning objective 1 from spec.md line 1332
  2. TODO: Add learning objective 2 from spec.md line 1333
  3. TODO: Add learning objective 3 from spec.md line 1334
  4. TODO: Add learning objective 4 from spec.md line 1335
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Understanding the Sim-to-Real Gap​

TODO: Explain sim-to-real gap (spec.md line 1340)

  • Physics accuracy differences
  • Sensor noise
  • Actuator dynamics

Domain Randomization​

TODO: Explain domain randomization (spec.md line 1341)

  • Varying simulation parameters
  • Lighting, friction, noise
  • Policy robustness

Mermaid Diagram TODO: Create Domain Randomization diagram (spec.md line 1366)

TODO: Show variations in lighting, textures, object poses across simulation runs

Example TODO: Add domain randomization example (spec.md line 1350)

System Identification​

TODO: Explain system identification (spec.md line 1342)

  • Measuring real hardware parameters
  • Improving simulation accuracy

Example TODO: Add calibration example (spec.md line 1351)

Incremental Validation Strategy​

TODO: Explain incremental validation (spec.md line 1343)

  • Test sensors
  • Test low-level control
  • Test high-level behaviors
  • Test full system

Mermaid Diagram TODO: Create Incremental Validation Flow (spec.md line 1367)

TODO: Sensors → Low-level control → High-level behaviors → Full system

Example TODO: Add validation example (spec.md line 1352)

Reality Gap Metrics​

TODO: Explain reality gap metrics (spec.md line 1344)

  • Task success rate
  • Behavior similarity
  • Sensor data distribution

Mermaid Diagram TODO: Create Reality Gap Metrics diagram (spec.md line 1368)

TODO: Task success rate, sensor data distribution, behavior similarity

Sim-to-Real Pipeline​

Mermaid Diagram TODO: Create Sim-to-Real Pipeline diagram (spec.md line 1365)

TODO: Develop in Sim → Domain Randomization → System ID → Deploy to Real → Evaluate

Example TODO: Add walking gait example (spec.md line 1349)

ROS 2 Hardware Validation​

TODO: Add ROS 2 validation commands (spec.md lines 1354-1361)

# TODO: Add commands from spec.md lines 1359-1360
# - Verify joint states
# - Verify camera data

Practice Tasks​

Complete these exercises to master sim-to-real transfer:

Task 1: Identify Sim-to-Real Gap Sources​

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Task 2: Apply Domain Randomization​

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Task 3: Measure Real Hardware Parameters​

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Task 4: Deploy and Evaluate Controller​

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Summary​

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  • Sim-to-real gap sources
  • Domain randomization benefits
  • System identification
  • Incremental validation
  • Reality gap metrics
  • Iterative tuning

References​

Next Chapter: Chapter 16: Final Demo Blueprint - Build a complete capstone project integrating all modules.