RobotDancing: Residual-Action Reinforcement Learning Enables Robust Long-Horizon Humanoid Motion Tracking
On the map: Deep reinforcement learning methods → RL for robot locomotion and manipulation
Abstract (arXiv)
Long-horizon, high-dynamic motion tracking on humanoids remains brittle: retargeted reference motions are typically kinematically plausible but dynamically inconsistent with the robot, so small tracking errors accumulate and eventually destabilize control. We present RobotDancing, a practical single-stage reinforcement learning recipe that tracks retargeted motions by predicting reference-conditioned residual joint targets. By parameterizing actions as residual corrections on top of the reference, the policy can focus on compensating reference--robot dynamics mismatch (e.g., actuation limits, latency, friction, inertia) rather than re-synthesizing the motion. We train one policy per reference sequence while reusing a common training and deployment recipe across motions and platforms. We evaluate RobotDancing on eight LAFAN1 dance motions on Unitree G1 and conduct cross-platform experiments on H1 and H1-2. The resulting G1 policies execute long-horizon, high-energy behaviors on hardware without test-time modifications, and qualitative H1/H1-2 clips further illustrate cross-platform feasibility.
Key facts. Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in RL for robot locomotion and manipulation, one of 15 directions in Deep reinforcement learning methods. Builds on 30 of its 39 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 25 Sep 2025.
Builds on
30 of 39 references.
Closest ancestors · 3
Same direction, newest first
- 2025Humanoid Whole-Body Locomotion on Narrow Terrain via Dynamic Balance and Reinforcement Learning24 Feb
- 2024Residual Policy Learning for Perceptive Quadruped Control Using Differentiable Simulation4 Oct
- 2024I-CTRL: Imitation to Control Humanoid Robots Through Constrained Reinforcement Learning14 May
Other references · 27
- 2017Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithmscited by 15,215
- 2018Residual Reinforcement Learning for Robot Controlcited by 274
- 2021Robust Motion In-betweeningcited by 229
- 2023Perpetual Humanoid Control for Real-time Simulated Avatarscited by 218
- 2024OmniH2O: Universal and Dexterous Human-to-Humanoid Whole-Body Teleoperation and Learningcited by 189
- 2023Real-World Humanoid Locomotion with Reinforcement Learningcited by 187
- 2024HumanPlus: Humanoid Shadowing and Imitation from Humanscited by 185
- 2025BeyondMimic: From Motion Tracking to Versatile Humanoid Control via Guided Diffusioncited by 165
- 2022Walk These Ways: Tuning Robot Control for Generalization with Multiplicity of Behaviorcited by 138
- 2025ASAP: Aligning Simulation and Real-World Physics for Learning Agile Humanoid Whole-Body Skillscited by 130
- 2023Universal Humanoid Motion Representations for Physics-Based Controlcited by 116
- 2024MaskedMimic: Unified Physics-Based Character Control Through Masked Motion Inpaintingcited by 116
15 more
- 2025TWIST: Teleoperated Whole-Body Imitation Systemcited by 101
- 2020Sim-to-Real Learning of All Common Bipedal Gaits via Periodic Reward Compositioncited by 96
- 2024ExBody2: Advanced Expressive Humanoid Whole-Body Controlcited by 88
- 2025GMT: General Motion Tracking for Humanoid Whole-Body Controlcited by 83
- 2025HOMIE: Humanoid Loco-Manipulation with Isomorphic Exoskeleton Cockpitcited by 76
- 2025KungfuBot: Physics-Based Humanoid Whole-Body Control for Learning Highly-Dynamic Skillscited by 52
- 2025AMO: Adaptive Motion Optimization for Hyper-Dexterous Humanoid Whole-Body Controlcited by 51
- 2025Learning Humanoid Standing-up Control across Diverse Posturescited by 46
- 2018Feedback Control For Cassie With Deep Reinforcement Learningcited by 45
- 2025Attention-Based Map Encoding for Learning Generalized Legged Locomotioncited by 40
- 2025CLONE: Closed-Loop Whole-Body Humanoid Teleoperation for Long-Horizon Taskscited by 38
- 2025UniTracker: Learning Universal Whole-Body Motion Tracker for Humanoid Robotscited by 37
- 2025HuB: Learning Extreme Humanoid Balancecited by 28
- 2025From Experts to a Generalist: Toward General Whole-Body Control for Humanoid Robotscited by 17
- 2025ULC: A Unified and Fine-Grained Controller for Humanoid Loco-Manipulationcited by 11
Built on by
Citing papers per year: 2026: 3.
3 papers.
- 2026AGILE: A Comprehensive Workflow for Humanoid Loco-Manipulation Learningcited by 4
- 2026Stubborn: A Streamlined and Unified Reinforcement Learning Framework for Robust Motion Tracking and Fall Recovery for Humanoidscited by 0
- 2026Semantic Audio-driven Understanding for Dynamic Humanoid Whole Body Controlcited by 0
- 2026Semantic Audio-driven Understanding for Dynamic Humanoid Whole Body Control15 Jul 2026
- 2026Stubborn: A Streamlined and Unified Reinforcement Learning Framework for Robust Motion Tracking and Fall Recovery for Humanoids11 Jun 2026
- 2026AGILE: A Comprehensive Workflow for Humanoid Loco-Manipulation Learning20 Mar 2026
Similar, not cited
Close in wording, no citation either way
- 2025Retargeting Matters: General Motion Retargeting for Humanoid Motion Tracking
- 2025RuN: Residual Policy for Natural Humanoid Locomotion
- 2026Make Tracking Easy: Neural Motion Retargeting for Humanoid Whole-body Control
- 2026Learning Reusable Hybrid Motion Priors for Humanoid Locomotion from Motion Imitation
- 2026Kinodynamic Motion Retargeting for Humanoid Locomotion via Multi-Contact Whole-Body Trajectory Optimization
- 2026ForgetMimic: Motion Unlearning for Reinforcement Learning Humanoid Control
- 2026HiWET: Hierarchical World-Frame End-Effector Tracking for Long-Horizon Humanoid Loco-Manipulation
- 2026HuMBLE: Human Motion-Driven Behavior Learning for Embodied Locomotion ↗