A humanoid robot that can precisely hammer nails into wood. Yes, you heard right, Tokyo Robotics has come up with such a robot, called Torobo, and the company has posted a video of it on their website.
According to the company, Torobo was developed to accelerate research into industrial applications of full-body humanoid robots.
Additionally, Torobo can be used for research into automating tasks that involve active contact with people, the environment, or objects, as well as for applications to next-generation force-controllable dual-arm robots and research into the application of machine learning to robots, the company said.
Tokyo Robotics says, “By combining the elasticity of the rubber material that holds the hammer in place, the deflection of the torque sensor and harmonic gear, backdrivability, and impedance control, it is possible to absorb the instantaneous rebound force from the hammer and drive in nails with a constant force.”
Torobo’s unique features are that it is almost human-sized, with a height of 1660mm, a reach of 680mm and a cart width of 625mm.
This robot can lift a minimum of 8 kg and, under the right conditions, can lift up to 20 kg, stimulating further research and development of robots and paving the way for them to replace human jobs in the future.
It has a 7-axis dual arm, 3-axis waist, 3-axis neck, and 4-axis undercarriage configuration, allowing it to perform tasks with a human-like range of motion in both living and working spaces.
Torobo is also equipped with torque sensors at all joints in the arms and waist, and the company says joint torque control enables safe contact stopping and the execution of force control tasks.
This capability will enable robots to safely perform assembly tasks, cook food, and even interact with humans.
The robot is compatible with ROS, which allows users to operate the robot on Gazebo (a ROS simulator) and the actual robot with the same program, and allows users to safely verify the robot’s operation. In addition, the company says that the robot also comes standard with functions such as trajectory planning and self-collision detection using the software “MoveIt!”
Published on July 21, 2024 at 14:08 IST
