ByChun-Lung Lim
Jay Hatcher Clay Harris
Humanoid Robotic Hardware• Biped Humanoid Robot Group - Kato/Takanishi
Laboratory & Waseda University
• WABIAN-2 - (WAseda BIpedal humANiod-No.2)
• Artificial Muscle Begins to Breathe
• Sensor Networks for Humanoids (Repliee Q2)
WL-1 (Waseda Leg Series)• The artificial lower-
limb WL-1 was constructed on the basis of a human’s leg mechanism in 1967
• Investigation of the fundamental functions of biped locomotion
WL-3• Constructed with
electro-hydraulic servo-actuator in 1969
• Achieved a human-like motion in a swing phase and a stance phase, and a standing and sitting motion
WL-5• Eleven mechanical
degrees of freedom; two x five DOF legs and one DOF trunk
• could change the direction by using a program control (1971)
WABOT-1• the world’s first full-scale
anthropomorphic robot• Could communicate with a
human in Japanese • Measure the distances
and directions of objects using external receptors such as artificial ears and eyes
• Hydraulically powered, it uses disproportionately large feet for stability
• realized “static walking” in 1973
WL-9DR• achieved quasi-
dynamic walking • used a 16-bit
microcomputer as its controller
• ten mechanical degrees of freedom
WL-10R• constructed by the
rotary type servo-actuators and carbon-fiber reinforced plastic in 1983
• achieved forward and backward walking, turning on the plane
WL-10RD• achieved a complete
dynamic walking on the plane with the step time of 1.3 s/step
• dynamic walking on uneven terrain such stairs and inclined planes was realized with a step time of 2.5 s/step
WL-12• hydraulic biped
having an upper body and a two-degrees-of-freedom waist (1986)
• dynamic biped walking was realized under external forces of unknown environments and on unknown walking surfaces
WL-12RDIII• walked in unknown
paths, and stairs in a human residential environment
• Also used trunk motion for balance and for compensating moment generated by leg movement
WABIAN (WAseda BIpedal humANoid)
• Dynamic forward and backward walking
• Collaborative work with humans
• Dancing• Carrying a Load• Emotional Walking• Total of 35 DOF
WABIAN-2• Total of 41 DOF• Height: 153 cm• Weight:
– 64.5 kg w/Ni-H batteries– 60.0 kg without
• 6-axis Force Sensors• Photo Sensor• DC Servo Motors• On Board Computer
WABIAN-2 Control System
Human Like Walking with 6 vs. 7 DOF
WABIAN WABIAN-2
In case of conventional leg mechanism (6-DOF), predetermination of foot's position and orientation will decide each joint angle. However, humans have the ability to move their knees even if the position and orientation of foot are predetermined due to the redundant DOF. Therefore, by having a 7-DOF robotic leg instead of 6-DOF robotic leg, the robot will have the same ability as humans to walk smoothly.
Waist Movement• 2-DOF (Roll, Yaw) in the
waist enables more human-like walking motions. This new mechanism has an advantage which allows the robot to walk with knee stretched position due to the independent orientation of trunk movement.
Movement Examples
• Moving knees with feet on the floor
• Upper body movement
• Moving arms and legs with feet and hands fixed
• Conventional walking
• Stretch walking
• Walking assisted
Artificial Muscle Begins to Breathe
Published by AAAS
V. H. Ebron et al., Science 311, 1580 -1583 (2006)
Continuously shorted fuel-cell muscle based on a NiTi shape-memory alloy
Main Advantages
• high–energy-density fuels (hydrogen, methanol, or formic acid) may be used resulting in much longer operating times
• Honda’s humanoid, ASIMO, only lasts 45 minutes on its batteries
• WABIAN 2 only lasts around 30 minutes
• Lightweight compared to Servo Motors and Batteries
Omnidirectional Sensor
The panoramic cylinder is a periodic function along the x-axis
Image based localization based on omnidirectional images
Associate the magnitude of the Fourier transform with the appearance of the environment from a particular place
Power Spectrum of the image at right
Directional Determination with Omnidirectional Images
• The phase of the Fourier transform is associated to the heading of the robot
• Magnitude of the Fourier transform does not change when the robot is turning and the appearance doesn’t change
• The phase of the Fourier transform changes and is proportional to the change in the heading of the robot
Sensor Network for Robots
Conclusions
• Significant advances in technology has enabled lifelike humanoids (Repliee Q2)
• Coming advances will result in frequent encounters with humanoids
• Humanoid development will help in the construction of better prosthetics and rehabilitation techniques
• Improved robotic suits lead to supermen!