European robotics labs are collaborating to develop a humanoid robot by copying the human body’s inner structures: bones, joints, muscles, and tendons. The ECCEROBOT project has three goals:
- to design and build a robot using anthropomimetic principles;
- to characterise its dynamics and control it;
- to exploit its human-like characteristics to produce some human-like cognitive features.
The researchers used thermoplastic polymer, elastic cords, and other soft, flexible materials to build the torso, arms, and hands.
Anthropomimetic robots, i.e. robots that mimic the human form are not new, but mimicking the internal structures using flexible materials is a new direction in robotics.
The Unimate - the first industrial robot (1961).
We have certainly come a long way!
Hmm, not sure I want our Robots to develop cognitive skills … I’m reminded of Maria, the “Maschinenmensch” or human machine in Metropolis, who is sent to sow discord among men. BTW, if you have never seen Metropolis, you can rent it from Netflix. It is an amazing movie, all the more so, since it was released in 1927.
Maria is getting instructions from her master.
For a great history of robotics visit my friend’s James website solely dedicated to robotics at megagiants.com.
Related posts:
