Project Humanoid Robot Introduction


Vision:
The main aim is to develop a Humanoid Robot for the college such that it can be used for Research in field of Artificial Intelligence, Image Processing, Neural Networks, Fuzzy Logic, Gait Synthesis, Human Robot Interaction, etc. We also aim to take part in HuroSOT event in FIRA. This making this robot will also create an opportunity for juniors in the college to build on the robot by improving the algorithms in the coming years.

Team:
Like I said the aim of this project is to start a culture in the college to work on humanoid robots, the entire team will keep on expanding as we make progress. As of now the 3 of us are working on this robot:-

1) Sachin Bharambe (3rd Year student in Dept. of Electronics and Electrical Engg. VNIT Nagpur)
2) Ajinky Kamath (3rd Year student in Dept. of Electronics and Electrical Engg. VNIT Nagpur)
3) Rohan Thakker (3rd Year student in Dept. of Mechanical Engg. VNIT Nagpur)


Specifications of the Robot:

  • Parts to be fabricated from ABS Plastic using MakerBOT 3-D Printer.
  • Robot consists of 24 Degrees-of-Freedom and about 2 feet tall.
  • 2 CMOS Cameras embedded into the head as eyes, to work on Stereo Vision, Face Recognition, Image Processing, etc.
  • A microphone and two speakers also to be embedded into the head to support Voice processing/ Voice Recognition and Human Robot Interaction.
  • Implementation of Active Balancing Algorithm (both static and dynamic), by taking feedback from 8 force sensors in the feet, gyroscope and accelerometer. This will enable the robot to walk on various surfaces and resist fall on application of pushing force.
  • 2 x Beagle Board-xm ARM9 with 1GHz processor. One for controlling the actuators and other for tasks such as Image process, Voice Recognition, Artificial Intelligence, etc.
  • Wireless PS2 joystick will be integrated to control the robot manually.
  • A simple GUI-software will be developed to check the status and working of the robot.
  • Use of PLM or Parallel Leg Mechanism where motors will be effectively attached in series to increase the speed of the robot.


Why 3-D Printed Humanoid?
The main reason is that we still don't have the entire funding for this project. Since we have got the MakerBOT 3-D printer in our Lab we decided to make the complete robot out of ABS Plastic. 

Target of Completion:
Like I said the main reason for delay is the funding for the project. The main cost of this Robot goes into the actuators as we have already managed to get the sensors and the board from the Electronics Dept. and the 3-d printer from the Mechanical Dept. The actuators which we wish to use are Dyanmixel Mx - 28 and we require around 20 of these. So this would pump our budget to around Rs. 2.5 - 3 Lakhs. To cut down the cost we would settle with the  Dynamixel Ax-12 or Ax-18 at some joints. We intend to complete this Robot by Summer 2013.

If you have any suggestions for this project or if you can  fund us (even partially) please leave a comment or contact us via email at whizkidrohan@gmail.com.

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