Full Size Humanoid Robot

THORMANG3 Introduction Video

Team SNU (Seoul National University) is composed of three subgroups: Dynamic Robotic Systems Lab (DYROS Lab), Machine Intelligence & Pattern Analysis Lab (MIPAL Lab), and SimLab (private company). Team SNU uses THORMANG developed by ROBOTIS. DYROS lab is in charge of control aspect of the robot and overall team management for DRC. The lab develops advanced intelligent robotic systems and their control algorithms so that they can interact with humans in our human environment. The main research areas are whole-body multi-contact control, robot–environment interaction, biomechanics, human motion analysis, compliant actuators, and robotic arts.

THORMANG3 Goes Shopping

Results at the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals 2015

MIPAL works on perception part of the robot for Team SNU. MIPAL at Seoul National University studies a broad spectrum of subjects relevant to pattern recognition and machine learning using statistical analysis. MIPAL’s main area of interest includes object recognition, object detection, pattern classification, statistical data analysis, Image processing and Computer vision. SimLab provides the software framework and interface to the robot for Team SNU. The company makes the complete software and hardware solutions for the robotics research, development, and educational communities. SimLab’s products include RoboticsLab™(robotic system modeling tools and real-time dynamics simulation SDK) and RealtimeRobotics™(real-time robot control SDK), as well as robot HW platforms: Allegro Dog/Arm/Hand™(quadruped, manipulator, and 16-DOF robotic hand).

Basic Feature

Stable Walking with Human-Friendly Scale, Mission Capability using Adaptive Gripper, Powerful Dual PC-level Computing with Intel NUC, Various Sensing with Force/Torque Sensor, LIDAR/IMU/Camera, Full ROS Support with 3D CAD data and Open-Source SDK, DYNAMIXEL PRO based Modular Design with Full Metal Body, Best for SLAM, Locomotion, Manipulation and HRI Research

Height: 42 kgs

Weight: 137.5cm

Controller (PC) : Intel® NUC with Intel® Core™ i5 Processor

Sensor : Logitech C920 HD Camera x 1, Intel Realsense x 1, Hokuyo UTM-30LX-EW x 1, F/T Sensor : ATi Mini58-SI-2800-120 x 2, IMU : MicroStrain 3DM-GX4-25 x 1

Actuator : DYNAMIXEL PRO H-Series

DOF : Head : 2DOF, ARM : 7DOF x 2, Waist : 1DOF, Under body : 6DOF x 2, (Gripper x 2)

Battery : LIPO 22.2V 22,000mA & 18.5V 11,000mA

Control Environment : OS : Linux Ubuntu LTS (64bit), SW : ROS / GNU C++ (g++), Library : Motor Control, Manipulation, Head Control, Walking Engine, Sensor control

ROBOTIS
DYROS : DYnamic RObotic Systems Lab
MIPAL
SimLab

World's First Human-Driven Bipedal Giant Robot A giant South Korean-built manned robot that walks like a human but makes the ground shake under its weight has taken its first baby steps.

The robot itself looks like one of the military robots in the movie "Avatar." A pilot inside the torso moves his arms to control the robot's upper limbs. (This kind of design is known as a "mech.") The robot is tethered by a power cable above, but walks several steps in the video clips.

METHOD-2, Vitaly Bulgarov

Method 1 The designer, Vitaly Bulgarov

A pilot sitting inside the robot's torso makes limb movements which are mimicked by Method-2, whose metal arms each weigh 130 kilograms (286 pounds). The robot, more than twice the size of a tall man, is so heavy that it shakes the ground when it takes a step with a loud whirring of motors.

Designed by a veteran of science fiction blockbusters, the four-metre-tall (13-foot), 1.5 ton Method-2 towers over a room on the outskirts of Seoul. "Our robot is the world's first manned bipedal robot and is built to work in extreme hazardous areas where humans cannot go (unprotected)," said company chairman Yang Jin-Ho. While its enormous size has grabbed media attention, the creators of Method-2 say the project's core achievement is the technology they developed and enhanced along the way. "Everything we have been learning so far on this robot can be applied to solve real-world problems," said designer Vitaly Bulgarov on his Facebook page. He has previously worked on film series such as Transformers, Robocop and Terminator.

The designer, Vitaly Bulgarov, told Live Science that the robot is real. However, he declined to share the names of scientists or engineers working on the project, and messages to the purported CEO of the company went unreturned.

Bulgarov said dampers in the robot's feet make its motion smooth. He also said the robot wasn't built for use as is but as a platform to show off various technical feats, like the human-machine interface for moving the arms or the bipedal locomotion. Right now, he said the robot couldn't walk on an uneven surface but might be useful for industrial purposes, though there are no plans to use the robot in its current state. The cockpit and arms could be attached to a wheeled vehicle for rough terrain, Bulgarov said. The company is considering applications such as cleanup at the Fukushima power plant, which was damaged during the 2011 tsunami in Japan, Bulgarov said.

Yang, who dreamed as a child of building his own robot, said he has invested 242 billion won ($200 million) in the project since 2014 to "bring to life what only seemed possible in movies and cartoons". Building the giant robot was a challenge for the engineers - most of them in their mid and late 30s - as its unprecedented scale meant they had nothing to refer to, said one who declined to be named. So far, it remains unclear how the robot will be used. Method-2 is seen more as a test-bed for various technologies that will allow the creators to build any type and size of robot in future. Yang said they have already received inquiries from industries ranging from manufacturing and construction to entertainment. There have even been questions about its possible deployment along the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone with North Korea. But the robot, tethered by a power cable and still a bit wobbly on its feet, is far from finished. More work is needed on its balance and power systems, according to its creators. "The robot is one year old so it is taking baby steps," Yang said. "Just like humans, it will be able to move more freely in the next couple of years." He said the robot will be ready for sale by the end of 2017 at a price of around 10 billion won ($8.3 million).

Hankook Mirae Technology
Vitaly Bulgarov

DARwIn-OP (Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence - Open Platform) is an affordable, miniature-humanoid-robot platform with advance computational power, sophisticated sensors, high payload capacity, and dynamic motion ability to enable many exciting research, education, and outreach activities.



Sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States, DARwIn-OP has been developed by RoMeLa at Virginia Tech with collaboration with University of Pennsylvania, Purdue University and Robotis Co., based on the award winning DARwIn series humanoid robots in development since 2004. In July 2011, Team DARwIn competed at RoboCup in Istanbul, Turkey winning first place against 24 international teams.

DARwIn-OP is a true open platform where users are encouraged to modify it in both hardware and software, and various software implementations are possible (C++, Python, LabVIEW, MATLAB, etc.) The open source hardware is not only user serviceable thanks to its modular design, but also can be fabricated by the user. Publically open CAD files for all of its parts, and instructions manuals for fabrication and assembly are available on-line for free.

A number of DARwIn-OP units will be fabricated and built by Robotis Co. for distribution to 11 partner universities (including major research universities, RUI institutions, a women's college, and two local high schools) and will utilize them in their classroom teaching and projects as well as outreach activities.



CAD files of DARwIn-OP's parts

The objective of this annual workshop is to; introduce DARwIn-OP to the humanoid robotics community to broaden the DARwIn-OP project and form a user community; train the users for use in research, education, and outreach activities; disseminate results of the usage of DARwIn-OP in the classroom; and to obtain feedback from the users for future improvements.

ROBOTIS