The Roboy project is focused on using 3D printing technology to advance humanoid robotics to the full capabilities of the human body, by replicating the human musculoskeletal system. The plan is to continue improving the models of Roboy iteratively, until he (it seems to me that Roboy is a boy) is able to perform in a way that’s “comparable to humans in dexterity, robustness and flexibility.” The first prototype was called Roboy Junior and was developed in just nine months several years ago. Roboy’s complete skeletal body structure was created using EOS systems for plastic additive manufacturing. Instead of motors, Roboy Junior actually has muscles and tendons in his joints.
- Biomimetic musculoskeletal mechanics
- Control of systems with many degrees of freedom and complex dynamics
- Human-robotics interaction
- Learning and developmental robotics
- Care and service robotics
Additive manufacturing allows the development team to test Roboy themselves, thanks to its fast manufacturing of separate components, which allows for iterative hardware development. Simulations don’t work when the team needs to validate project requirements, because of Roboy’s “maximal mechatronic complexity on a minimal space.”
“In software development, rapid development cycles allow software improvement by testing it ‘in the wild.’ Additive Manufacturing allows us to apply this approach to robotics, enabling a rapid development to find optimal functional parts in a fraction of the time,” said Rafael Hostettler, Roboy project leader. “EOS’ AM technology is a key component for doing this as it enables the iterative hardware development that is crucial for our project.”
According to an Affectiva article found on Roboy’s very own Facebook page (check out his relationship status for a good laugh), Roboy is also a soft robot research platform for studying how muscles coordinate, and he’s the first anthropomimetic robot to have a place in the Human Brain Project (HBP). If you don’t think Roboy is human-like yet, wait until you hear this: a winning team at a Roboy hackathon used Affectiva’s software development kit to detect the emotions of people Roboy was in contact with – and then Roboy actually reacted to the emotions!
“While a large number of companies focuses on AI development, only a very small number of projects worldwide develop humanoid robotics,” said Dr. Adrian Keppler, Chief Marketing Officer at EOS. “Therefore, we are all the more proud to support the renowned Roboy project and see its meaning. As the strengths of Additive Manufacturing lie in those areas where conventional manufacturing reaches its limitations, EOS’ technology is the ideal solution for a research project as ambitious as Roboy. We are happy that the Roboy team is trusting in EOS to realize their vision.”
Discuss in the Roboy forum at 3DPB.com.
We have reached out to EOS for comment on their role in this project, and will update upon hearing back from them.