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17 DOF Humanoid Kit — Parallax Forums

17 DOF Humanoid Kit

ercoerco Posts: 20,256
edited 2014-01-21 12:25 in Robotics
$104, no servos/electronics, just stamped brackets & hardware! Too rich for my tastes, but people do go nuts for humanoid bipeds. The photo shows an array of brackets, but no assembled bot. http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-17DOF-Biped-Robot-Educational-Robot-Kit-Servo-Bracket-Ball-Bearing-Black-/271237534022

$107 here, but the item description shows an assembled photo: http://www.ebay.com/itm/17DOF-Biped-Robot-Educational-Robot-Kit-Servo-Bracket-Ball-Bearing-Black-/251267633186

Now who's just GOTTA have this? Duane? Martin_H? Amanda?

Comments

  • Martin_HMartin_H Posts: 4,051
    edited 2014-01-04 16:20
    I'll pass as I prefer odometry and robot arms to walking robots.
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2014-01-04 19:21
    I see a humanoid robot in my future but I doubt in 2014. I have 12 unfinished robots I plan to get up and running this year. The humanoid can wait.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2014-01-04 20:25
    I concur. BTW, I know Amanda already has one she is working on: http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/152944-Servo-Controller-Help
  • ajwardajward Posts: 1,130
    edited 2014-01-08 04:24
    That one is on my watch list erco, but I'm finding that with my 6 DOF biped there is a =LOT= of experimentation finding the correct servo positions for balancing the beastie. Tip an ankle servo a bit too far and the whole assembly can start rocking back and forth on one foot or simply fall over... :blank: OR whole balanced on foot, swinging the opposite leg forward can upset that delicate balance.

    Don't get me wrong... the thing is a blast to play with, but I simply can't imagine dealing with 17 servos, especially when you have the arms whose position has to be taken into account when determining balance points for the walking code.

    Work is progressing on Wally albeit =very= slowly. Over the last few weeks, my part-time job has become a bit more than part-time... averaging dangerously close to 40hrs a week. Bleah!

    @
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2014-01-08 08:37
    I admit, I have already started sketching up an 8 DOF walker... Can't miss out on all the "fun" you claim to be having!
  • prof_brainoprof_braino Posts: 4,313
    edited 2014-01-08 11:42
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/9DOF-Biped-Robot-Educational-Robot-Kit-Servo-Bracket-Ball-Bearing-Black-i-/281053319864?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item41701552b8#ht_682wt_971

    Half the price half the DOF. Still not on my to do list :(
  • ajwardajward Posts: 1,130
    edited 2014-01-08 13:02
    @prof_braino: Not too bad a price, especially with the aluminum servo horns and ball bearings.

    @
  • ZywackZywack Posts: 11
    edited 2014-01-08 13:06
    My thoughts as I was reading through the thread:
    1) That's so cool! I want one! Where's the buy button??
    2) ... if I add the price of the servos it's not that cheap anymore...
    3) Oh! The half-price one would be under 200$ completed, that's not bad at all!
    4) ... There's no way I can make something like that work correctly right now...

    I'd love to work on something like that sometime in the future (ie. in a few years). I'll admit it's tempting, but not going to make the mistake of actually buying one :)

    Edit: Found a demo video for the 2nd robot.
    http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTcwODM3NDYw.html
    The walking gait they've managed to make with it is actually pretty decent in my opinion...
  • ajwardajward Posts: 1,130
    edited 2014-01-08 16:46
    Zywack wrote: »
    My thoughts as I was reading through the thread:
    1) That's so cool! I want one! Where's the buy button??
    2) ... if I add the price of the servos it's not that cheap anymore...
    3) Oh! The half-price one would be under 200$ completed, that's not bad at all!
    4) ... There's no way I can make something like that work correctly right now...

    I'd love to work on something like that sometime in the future (ie. in a few years). I'll admit it's tempting, but not going to make the mistake of actually buying one :)

    Edit: Found a demo video for the 2nd robot.
    http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTcwODM3NDYw.html
    The walking gait they've managed to make with it is actually pretty decent in my opinion...

    I would suggest that a 17 DOF bipedal robot is a =very= ambitions undertaking. Not wanting to discourage you, but perhaps you might want to consider starting with something less demanding and upgrading a bit at a time. BUT... go with your feelings and Good Luck! Keep us apprised of your progress! :-)

    Amanda
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2014-01-08 21:12
    ajward wrote: »
    That one is on my watch list erco, but I'm finding that with my 6 DOF biped there is a =LOT= of experimentation finding the correct servo positions for balancing the beastie. Tip an ankle servo a bit too far and the whole assembly can start rocking back and forth on one foot or simply fall over... :blank: OR whole balanced on foot, swinging the opposite leg forward can upset that delicate balance.

    Could you just make bigger feet?
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2014-01-08 21:31
    Too many DOF. 'Been thinking about a contest to see who can design the best mobile robot using ONE servo. Whaddya y'all think?

    -Phil
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2014-01-08 21:50
    LIKE! Must demonstrate some feature/goal/function.

    I've seen a gallimaufry of 3-servo bots, but never just one.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej1_BWnmpgg
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWSbFfW3lC4
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E58JDq0wDrw
  • ZywackZywack Posts: 11
    edited 2014-01-09 12:30
    ajward wrote: »
    I would suggest that a 17 DOF bipedal robot is a =very= ambitions undertaking. Not wanting to discourage you, but perhaps you might want to consider starting with something less demanding and upgrading a bit at a time. BUT... go with your feelings and Good Luck! Keep us apprised of your progress! :-)

    Amanda

    Actually, the part that is keeping my attention is basically the servo arrangement for the bottom half of the 9-dof robot. Unlike the other low dof robots I've seen (For example those 6-dof sold on e-bay or the Lynxmotion BRAT), this one has rotateable thighs.

    From my understanding, that would allows for much easier and precise turning unlike the common method of "4 servos in line with 2 ankles". Also, since it has to move forward by "turning its hips" instead of actually stepping forward, I imagine it is quite a bit simpler to both program and balance.

    So my thinking would be to buy the 9-dof robot and just build the bottom part (basically a 4-dof robot). Make that work and learn from it. If I want to extend it eventually, I'd already have the frame for it. It would be a very limited robot due to it's servo arrangement (for example, unlike a BRAT, there's no way it could possibly stand back up by itself even in it's 9-dof form and dynamic balancing would be incredibly limited at best), but it sounds like an awesome robot to learn with and relatively inexpensive.

    I'm aware that I'm not ready even for the 4-dof bottom half of the robot and that I got a lot of basics to learn before I tackle that... The thing that annoys me though is that unlike the 17-dof robots (they are cool but no way I'm touching that for many, many years) which have a ton of e-bay retailers, there's one single reseller for that 9-dof robot. So right now I'm struggling between ordering just the frame and putting it in storage until I feel I'm ready to try it (which is likely going to be quite some time and money not too well spent), or wait until I'm ready before I purchase anything and risk ending up not having them for sale anymore with no afforable comparable replacement. Decisions, decisions...


    Edit: Problem solved: Not going to purchase it. Using different search terms, I've found 2 other reseller for the same 9dof robot, alongside with two websites (one which sells it for 45$) so it looks like that supply isn't an issue after all. Waiting for my Activity Bot to arrive in the mail and see if I can succesfully manage to implement my plans for it before buying anything else robot-related is much wiser, anyway.

    Regarding the 1-dof robot, I was sure that the DFRobot insect had only one servo, but after rechecking, nope... I can't say I've seen any 1 servo robot yet.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2014-01-09 16:14
    Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »
    'Been thinking about a contest to see who can design the best mobile robot using ONE servo.

    I now recall you (PhiPi) had an insectoid one with a slightly canted servo axis so the front two feet would sweep back & forth to generate a shuffling motion using momentum. That was pretty cool.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2014-01-19 20:57
    Interesting 4 DOF walker. I can almost imagine how it walks. Ankles lean & pick up feet, hips alternate rotating to shuffle forward. Not worth $164 shipped, but food for thought.

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Four-degrees-of-freedom-bipedal-walking-robot-2013-/281177543659?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item41777cd3eb
  • ZywackZywack Posts: 11
    edited 2014-01-21 12:25
    Actually, it'd be much better to buy the 9-dof robot: It's cheaper and has the same walk. The base is the same 4-dof as you linked: You could just build the bottom half of the 9-dof robot and have the exact same but cheaper. You are correct about the walk: You can see it walking in the video I linked a few posts back.
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