Walking Anthropomorphic Sociorobots

Walking bipedal anthropomorphic robots (also known as humanoids, androids or gynoids) are very complex mechanical creatures with very large numbers of motion degrees of freedom. In many cases they are designed to exhibit face and emotional expressions with the aid of a large number of motors inside their head. Typically, their present cost is prohibitive, and so many robotic companies are now turning their efforts toward producing cheap humanoids with open source software and modular design, in order to be usable and affordable by Universities and research institutes. This chapter starts with a discussion of some fundamental issues concerning the design of humanoid heads and faces. Then, the chapter outlines the specifications, structures, features, and capabilities of seven walking anthropomorphic robots, namely: Honda’s ASIMO, Fujitsu’s HOAP-3, Sony’s QRIO, Abdebaran Robotics’ NAO, Japan METI’s HRP-2, Tokyo University’s gynoid SAYA, and KAIST’s android Albert HUBO.

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