We just found a new friend. Kojiro, a
humanoid being built by the University of Tokyo's JSK Robotics Laboratory, has a detailed musculoskeletal system built to mimic the human body. It works on a system of artificial bones, muscles and tendons to create a robot that is theoretically more light and agile than your regular bot, and which moves in a more organic fashion to our untrained eyes. The bot has motors which pull cables that simulate the method which muscles and tendons interact, and has about 100 tendon-muscle structures, giving it 60 degrees of freedom -- more than an average rotary joint bot like Asimo (34 degrees, last time we checked). The robot shaves weight with its lighter, plastic materials and small brushless motors. The idea is to make a robot that's more people friendly by not being substantially heavier or more rigid than a human it might come into contact with. Of course, that's not the only perk of a bot built like this: the human-style flexible and twistable spine gives Kojiro all sorts of abilities that your regular bot is just too straight-spined for. Like the limbo, for instance. The big difficulty here is that all the motion and flexibility means Kojiro is a big chore to program, and there's an army of gyros, accelerometers and force sensors embedded throughout the bot to help it learn its balance. Currently they're working with an iterative learning process to get small motions down until Kojiro can eventually manage more complex motions like sitting motionless at a desk for nine hours on a Saturday, tending to FarmVille. Check out a video of Kojiro in limited action after the break.
posted March 7th 2010 2:10AM
best UI ever.
quadscreen + PS1 controller
C3po is that you!?
@xKNGx MEGAMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Eugene Action
"deedle deedle deedle... let's go, Buck!"
@xKNGx
Well if they ever plan on shipping these things like in iRobot the learning curve will be small because of the PS1 Controller
So, PS1 controllers are they're weakness...
@B3astofthe3ast Their** dammit
NERV logo when he's loading up his software :P
@Luffy
It kind of looks like Shinji. Its got robo-angst.
@Luffy
The answer's not in the box, it's in the band.
@Luffy
the sensors interface is also from the synapsis interface from NGE at NERV hq ;)
awesome!
@realrookie
all the NGE references in this project = incredibly badass
@Luffy I wonder if that's running on Melchior, Balthasar, or Casper?
Wow he looks like Sonny from i, Robot.
BACK TO HELL!!!
@AO is Back
indeed
It looks pissed off... or I've been watching too much Caprica.
@patches66
To me the thing looks terrified. I dunno weather I should rescue it from the lab or put it out of its apparent misery.
Can we just stop putting faces on robots? It's a lot less threatening (to humanity) if we didn't let them look like us.
@robodomo It will never be human until it can feel lower back pain. If you're going to put muscles and aiming for realism...
wtf is this for? creepy
You'd think they'd have learned from Wall-E that to emote and interact with humans and the environment, they don't have to move like or look human.
@Ducman69
but he qualifies to greet you at Wal*Mart
When are they going to start making robots with artificial muscles instead?
Also they should give it more flexibility than a human .. why not .. they can restrict it in the programming if necessary.
MegaMan prototype in the works
Look at those eyes... they're looking directly at my soul!
@mtnDewFTW
he wants to be put out of his misery. he cannot talk yet but if he could he would be asking for assisted suicide. you can just tell.
That thing looks like the bot from "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey".
Hmm maybe I should get my Precision workstation to working on something as interesting...
oh noe! it's my worst NIGHTMARE! THE BORG ARE HERE TO ASSIMILATE ME!!!1
@Wiggy Fuzz
It's not Borg until it rends the flesh from your bones to give itself organic components.
okay now it's becoming al lil bit creepy with the human robot :D
That part about it being able to keep moving even if some of it's systems are damaged reminds me of how the terminator just keeps coming.
It's more and more like terminators
@jackjack3333
I think it's time we friend John Connor on fb
Meh.
BostonDynamics can do a better job.
@Olternaut Dynamics in a company's name is never good.
Be it Global,Massive, or Veridian.
I think the musculoskeletal crotch section is taking it a bit too far.
say hypothetically Google were to buy or invest heavily in this tech...
That is when we go underground...
That is when skynet is a year or less from becoming self aware.
@AbsoluteDesignz
Droid Does!
.... oh nooo!!!
Nothing that my trusty chainsaw can't fix.
@Professor Hubert J Farnsworth
until it gets your chainsaw
Well that video doesn't really show natural humanoid movement, but it's still very complex nonetheless.
And BTW, that article is very badly written!
The most important thing that all robot makers forget to install for proper balancing and walking like a human... is a pair of balls and a wang!
A mans balls and wang are perfectly positioned that even when we are drunk we are still able to walk in a semi straight line.
WITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I for one welcome our Kojiro humanoid overlords.
It's only a matter of time till the devout nerds and geeks finally get their Robotsex...
@freshboi
I'm saving my virginity for when they arrive!
It's a piece of shit hanging from wires that he rotate a bit, $7.5 at toys r us buys something more advanced.
looks like the child version of robin williams in bicentennial man.