Junichi Urata, a Japanese roboticist from the Jouhou System Kougaku Laboratory, wants to build a robot that won’t fall over in the first place--even if it's kicked and harassed repeatedly by its creators. To this end, Urata built the HRP3L-JSK (HRP3L for short), which uses purely electric power and high-speed motors.
An electric powered robot might not seem like news, but Urata put together a new type of electrical actuation system. In addition to a high-capacity, slow-electron-flow chemical battery, the HRP3L is equipped with a 13.5-farad capacitor system that can deliver lots of energy in a short amount of time.
The HRP3L needs this instantaneous energy transfer to feed its 200-watt brushless motors, which also need to be liquid-cooled. The motors can move over 1000 degrees in one second, and can deliver 35 newton-meters (25.8 foot-pounds) of torque. Obviously, robots with cat -like reflexes should be on our next invention list.
The robot has also been programmed with a balance control system that calculates over 170 foot placements in a single millisecond to prevent itself from falling over. The system is so robust that the robot can’t be kicked down even if assaulted from a number of angles. Just remember that it's all fun and games until the robots start kicking back…
Be sure to check out IEEE Spectrum for a full technical breakdown of the HRP3L-JSK.
[Jouhou System Kougaku Laboratory via IEEE Spectrum]
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