Mechatronic Design of a New Humanoid Robot with Hybrid Parallel Actuation

Vítor Santos, Rui Moreira, Filipe Silva
2012 International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems  
Humanoid robotics is unquestionably a challenging and long-term field of research. Of the numerous and most urgent challenges to tackle, autonomous and efficient locomotion may possibly be the most underdeveloped at present in the research community. Therefore, to pursue studies in relation to autonomy with efficient locomotion, the authors have been developing a new teen-sized humanoid platform with hybrid characteristics. The hybrid nature is clear in the mixed actuation based on common
more » ... ical motors and passive actuators attached in parallel to the motors. This paper presents the mechatronic design of the humanoid platform, focusing mainly on the mechanical structure, the design and simulation of the hybrid joints, and the different subsystems implemented. Trying to keep the appropriate human proportions and main degrees of freedom, the developed platform utilizes a distributed control architecture and a rich set of sensing capabilities, both ripe for future development and research.
doi:10.5772/51535 fatcat:ffuglsui6baxfgrhpgc2dr244e