Enhancement of mechanical strength, computational power, and heat management for fieldwork humanoid robots

Abstract

Robots need to gain high power and robustness for them to be used in hostile environments such as disaster site. In this paper, design methodology of a humanoid robot with robustness is proposed. Electro-Hydrostatic Actuators are adopted to provide backdrivability and mechanical robustness. Parallel-serial hybrid mechanisms and its protection mechanisms are used in joint structure to enhance structural strength. MCU and FPGA are used to realize fast motor control and acquisition of sensory data from large number of sensors. Cooling system was developed to ensure performance under high load and enhance reliability of the robot. Development of robust robot system of a disaster response humanoid robot is reported.