Aesthetic design and development of humanoid legged robot

This paper presents a new full sized humanoid leg robot that combines aesthetics and design theory with practical research goals in robotics. The research goal of the robot is to create human-like and compliant motion in multiple contact situations through the use of torque controlled joints. Low gear ratio and direct connections are used at each joint for low-friction and back-drivability but without explicit joint torque sensors. On the other hand, in creating human-like motions, not only technical specifications but also aesthetic design is important as the same performance of the robot can be perceived very differently depending on the design. The aesthetic design is, in this paper, achieved by the robot design process using an integrated design and frame through multi-axis CNC machining. The unique integration of the frame and design also drastically reduces parts and complexity of assembly for easy maintenance. In this paper, the design process and features are presented with range of motion, weight, and key aesthetic decisions. Compliant motion capability is demonstrated by experimental results.