Man builds master-slave control suit for robot; master plays tennis, slave makes funny faces

The robot in the video below doesn't swallow humans or look particularly daemonic; as a matter of fact it looks perfectly subservient. User rodmanLT over at the RoboSavvy forums has created this master-slave suit consisting of a dozen "big fat" potentiometers, apparent leftovers from the Soviet Cold War military might. The armbands and associated tethers allow the operator to control the upper-torso of a Kondo KHR-1HV, even engaging in some tennis and a quick game of Catch the Tigger. See for yourself after the break, then hit the read link for some earlier testing vids. Surely a robotic interpretation of Twentieth-Century Vole's iconic The Semaphore Version of Wuthering Heights can't be far away.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:02AM]

What a great device to have around children. Master Slave......

[poyo Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:03AM]

now hook it up to the 60' gundam in japan and im all set =)

[Eman Posted Sep 8th 2009 10:08AM]

Its only a matter of time.....

[mithritades Posted Sep 8th 2009 10:56AM]

or that other guy who was building a mech in his backyard

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:32AM]

That guy won't be smiling when the robot replaces the dozen "big fat" potentiometers with a dozen "big fat" electrodes and becomes the master. I always expected our robot overlords to be bigger.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:09AM]

If some random guy in his basement was capable of making a full body movement - real time - wireless controlled robotic machine, what the hell are the engineers at IBM doing? Playing pin pong till their shifts are done? Very impressive.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 10:53AM]

IBM's busy with their MRI cantilever microscope.

Really, what's Nasa up to? Their ISS robots are a bit unresponsive aren't they?

[untitled Posted Sep 8th 2009 10:48AM]

Just a few steps closer to our own Surrogates

[LeiTxo Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:16AM]

*In Peter Griffin voice* THAT... is... AWWWESOME!

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:22AM]

Look how happy he is in the first video .
It looks great , but like spring said hmmmm so big tech companies are having issues while this guy has got a working prototype in his basement. Maybe hes from the future, who knows

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 14th 2009 6:51AM]

I think the big tech companies figured this out in 1981, but now they're building the A-I , the mind of it's own. A bit less easy I assume than copying motion. none the less this is superawesome, and my deepest respect goes out to that guy!
But don't say the big companies do nothing... I think u'd be surprised if you should know what's going on outside of our public source called Youtube.

[exNewt Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:49AM]

Well, at least the robot's color is correct...

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 9th 2009 4:41AM]

wow, really?

[NeoJew Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:31AM]

That last one with the tiger was not appropriate for children.

[neeko18 Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:31AM]

wow thats amazing. id like to think secretly the big tech companies have creations way more advanced then this guys robot. If not this guy should be the marketing his creation and selling it worldwide..I hope hasbro and other toy companies are calling him ASAP.

[morissen3k8 Posted Sep 8th 2009 1:12PM]

As far as kits go you can also purchase yours at http://www.kondo-robot.com/EN/ I think that's where he bought kit from minus the potentiators. Bipedal robots are more advanced than the zoid type robots as seen in Robot Wars TV series http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASKJsHa5n2U Next up mobile suits that's gonna be a while...

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:34AM]

ROFL. But this is easy and can be done even with just a very small device on every hand with few sensors, or even with a cheap camera monitoring the hand movements (see latest ms project)
What is far biger problem which noone has solved uptoday is how to solve legs movement - so being able to "walk", but stay on the same spot - after this problem will be solved, we can start the real 3D gaming or robot wars, until that time it is just boring atraction

[JB47394 Posted Sep 8th 2009 10:58AM]

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/10/omni-directional-treadmill-could-put-you-in-the-game/

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 9:46AM]

So, which one is master and which one is slave? Somehow it is not clear.

[acme64 Posted Sep 8th 2009 10:01AM]

put this inside the giant gundam in japan, then we can have a G Gundam reality show.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 10:05AM]

That guy could make some frickin´ nice mechs.

[Hosemaster Posted Sep 8th 2009 10:33AM]

I'll wait for Julius Caesar on an Aldis Lamp.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 10:55AM]

We're... so... close...!! I really, really hope the world doesn't get nuked before we see manned giant robots walking around.

[to6ko91 Posted Sep 8th 2009 12:40PM]

does this robot remind somebody for the matrix (the part with zion and the robots)

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 2:18PM]

Give the robots touch sensitive sensors and relay that to the rumble added onto the control suit.
Feedback is mucho importante.

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 2:42PM]

Isn't robot-toy tiger intercourse illegal? :/

[keithwwalker Posted Sep 8th 2009 3:38PM]

http://stateoftheline.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/masterblaster.jpg
We don't need another hero...

[(Unverified) Posted Sep 8th 2009 4:09PM]

That is beyond insane. Bonus points for managing to body slam and bear hug the tiger, and assert robotic dominance in celebration at the end.

[McPOW Posted Sep 8th 2009 4:31PM]

I wish he were my dad

[jnickence Posted Sep 9th 2009 3:13PM]

Awesome Waldo application!