Unveiled: the robot that plays badminton and can do chin-ups
ROBOTS that can play badminton and even tackle chin-ups have been developed by Japanese scientists who have mimicked human joints and bone structure for the first time to create ultra-realistic movements.
Most human-like robots are designed using basic engineering principles which leave them rigid and bulky and make their movement clumsy. However, the team from the University of Tokyo based their humanoids – named Kengoro and Kenshiro – on the workings of the human body, recreating the musculoskeletal system in aluminium, steel and plastic and installing synthetic tendons and joints.
The robots have rib cages and articulated spines, as well as a sensory nervous system which constantly monitors balance and stability. They have brain-like information processing capabilities so that they can act without specifically being told what to do.
In a paper, published in the Science Robotics journal, the team revealed how artificial muscles were built from electric motors, wires and sensors while the robot was equipped with five-fingered hands and feet which can flex and bend like human appendages.
Ball and socket joints were created to allow a range of movement never before achieved in robots.
The robots were put through their paces to show they could tackle difficult exercises, such as chin-ups, situps, back-bending and even hitting a shuttlecock with a badminton racket.
Yuki Asano, the lead researcher, said: “Our intent is to design a humanoid based on human systems, including the musculoskeletal structure, sensory nervous system, and methods of information processing in the brain.”
Writing in the journal, which he also edits, Guang-zhong Yang, the director of the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery at Imperial College London, said: “Humanoids represent one of the ultimate goals of robotics.
“We are still at the beginning of a long journey of creating a humanoid robot that is intelligent and can act, reason, and interact like a human being in real-world scenarios.”
‘We are still at the beginning of a long journey of creating a humanoid robot’