PETMAN : A Humanoid Robot for Testing Chemical Protective Clothing (特集 2足歩行ロボット技術)

Petman is an anthropomorphic robot designed to test chemical protective clothing (Fig. 1). Petman will test Individual Protective Equipment (IPE) in an environmentally controlled test chamber, where it will be exposed to chemical agents as it walks and does basic calisthenics. Chemical sensors embedded in the skin of the robot will measure if, when and where chemical agents are detected within the suit. The robot will perform its tests in a chamber under controlled temperature and wind conditions. A treadmill and turntable integrated into the wind tunnel chamber allow for sustained walking experiments that can be oriented relative to the wind. Petman’s skin is temperature controlled and even sweats in order to simulate physiologic conditions within the suit. When the robot is performing tests, a loose fitting Intelligent Safety Harness (ISH) will be present to support or catch and restart the robot should it lose balance or suffer a mechanical failure. The integrated system: the robot, chamber, treadmill/turntable, ISH and electrical, mechanical and software systems for testing IPE is called the Individual Protective Ensemble Mannequin System (Fig. 2) and is being built by a team of organizations.† In 2009 when we began the design of Petman, there was no humanoid robot in the world that could meet the requirements set out for this program. Previous suit testing robots such as Portonman from the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory used external actuation or fixtures to support the robot during exercises. Limitations of these systems include a limited repertoire of behaviors or the compromise of the protective suit