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!