WALK-MAN humanoid lower body design optimization for enhanced physical performance

Abstract

The deployment of robots to assist in environments hostile for humans during emergency scenarios require robots to demonstrate enhanced physical performance, that includes adequate power, adaptability and robustness to physical interactions and efficient operation. This work presents the design and development of the lower body of the new high performance humanoid WALK-MAN, a robot developed recently to assist in disaster response scenarios. The paper introduces the details of the WALK-MAN lower-body, highlighting the innovative design optimization features considered to maximize the leg performance. Starting from the general lower body specifications the objectives of the design and how they were addressed are introduced, including the selection of the leg kinematics, the arrangement of the actuators and their integration with the leg structure to maximize the range of motion, reduce the leg mass and inertia, and shape the leg mass distribution for better dynamic performance. Physical robustness is ensured with the integration of elastic transmission and impact energy absorbing covers. Experimental walking trials demonstrate the correct operation of the legs while executing a walking gait

TALOS: A new humanoid research platform targeted for industrial applications

“…As depicted in Table IV, Pyrène seems to have lower power and speed than WALKMAN according to [2]. However, looking at [22], which gives a more thorough description of the actuator, one can remark that the numbers given in [2] do not consider the torque limits of the HD.…”

“…As well as in the context of research, an important factor for the deployment of humanoid robots in real scenario is the repeatability. This goal can be reached when the design of the robot is done in collaboration with an industrial partner mastering the integration known-how, or with institutes having strong technological centers such as DLR [8] and IIT [2]. The successful production of the HRP series [17], [18], and the robots from Boston Dynamics are good examples of robots with industrial quality.…”

“…Humanoid robots such as Valkyrie [10] or WALK-MAN [2] use Serial Elastic Actuators (SEA). SEA can absorb impacts, store the related energy and release it later.…”

“…WALK-MAN [2] and DRC-HUBO+ [7] are robots using this kind of technology. WALK-MAN has new high performance actuators with impressive capabilities, but it is a laboratory prototype and the maintenance and support are difficult to perform outside IIT.…”

“…It has led to the design of new powerful robots such as Walkman [2], S-One/JAXON [3], PROXI/DURUS [4], [5] and the upgrade of standard platforms such as HRP-2 with HRP-2 Kai [6] or HUBO with DRC-HUBO+ [7]. Following the example of the initial DARPA Challenge on autonomous cars, it is interesting to investigate now the possible industrial outcome of the technologies developed for this competition and to integrate some of the hard lessons learned on this occasion.…”