Many startups, labs and teaching institutions want to use robots to experiment with real-world physical actions such as walking, jumping or navigating terrain. However, these robots are expensive, running as much as $50,000 or more.
As such, researchers at NYU's Tandon School of Engineering and Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems have developed a low-cost, easy-to-assemble quadruped robot that can be upgraded and modified to fit experimental needs. The robot, called Solo 8, can be used by research and development teams on limited budgets, researchers said.
Solo 8 includes torque-controlled motors and actuated joints that enable it to jump, walk in different directions and recover orientation, posture and stability after being overturned. All of the components of Solo 8 can be either 3D printed or bought in a shop, with files to build the robot available online.
NYU Tandon said the robot could be used to:
- Research animal-based limb movement over surfaces, gravel, soil, sand, mud and other terrains.
- Reinforce learning behaviors such as push performance to stress limits that would be too risky to attempt with expensive platforms.
- Perform dynamic locomotion that is exceedingly difficult for robots.
- Open doors or push buttons.
- Integrate advanced communications technology.
“Our robot platform is a great base to quickly prototype and build high-performance hardware,” said Ludovic Righetti, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and mechanical and aerospace engineering at NYU Tandon. “In return we benefit, because other researchers can contribute to the project; for example colleagues at the LAAS-CNRS in France have developed an electronic board to help communicate with the robot over Wi-Fi.”
Additionally, complex control and learning algorithms can be tested on the platform that decreases the time from idea to experiment validation.
The Solo 8 robot weighs just over 2 kg, allowing it to be easily held and safer for students. Each of the eight actuated joints can change the robotic leg angle and length. Recently, a new version was developed that has 12 degrees of freedom, which allows the robot to step sideways.
The full research can be found in the journal Robotics and Automation Letters.
