Cronos, the humanoid robot
This is Cronos, or at least the 3rd generation humanoid torso developed entirely by The Robot Studio for Owen Holland's and Tom Troscianko's EPSRC Adventure Fund project to build a conscious robot.
Cronos was built from the waist up so it could be used as a tool to investigate the relationship between visual perception (seeing things - persevere with this web page, if you've never seen change blindness before you literally won't believe your eyes), sensorimotor skills (doing things) and the sensation of experience - which in this case would be a machine consciousness.
Cronos is the most accurate copy of the human anatomy yet built and has 45 powered degrees of freedom to produce:
Electric screwdriver motors were used throughout as they are cheap, reliable and readily available.
The motor output characteristics are tuned through the elasticity of the tendon attachment to the body.
The motor control algorithm is biologically-inspired and uses a mixture of positional and velocity based control - this combines with the passive dynamic characteristics of the body to produce smooth co-ordinated action.
Commercial electronic speed controllers were used to reduce costs and development times.
Cronos was built from the waist up so it could be used as a tool to investigate the relationship between visual perception (seeing things - persevere with this web page, if you've never seen change blindness before you literally won't believe your eyes), sensorimotor skills (doing things) and the sensation of experience - which in this case would be a machine consciousness.
Cronos is the most accurate copy of the human anatomy yet built and has 45 powered degrees of freedom to produce:
• a head that can move in all directions
• a single pan-tilt-roll camera for an eye
• a single pan-tilt-roll camera for an eye
• a very long, flexible neck for visual inspection of objects
• rigid thorax - no lungs afterall
• rigid thorax - no lungs afterall
• a flexible spine complete with vertebral discs
• the first working, powered copy of the human shoulder with gliding shoulder blade
• the first working, powered copy of the human shoulder with gliding shoulder blade
• two arms that can each lift a 2kg load
• fully mobile wrists
• five fingered hands
• fully mobile wrists
• five fingered hands
Electric screwdriver motors were used throughout as they are cheap, reliable and readily available.
The motor output characteristics are tuned through the elasticity of the tendon attachment to the body.
The motor control algorithm is biologically-inspired and uses a mixture of positional and velocity based control - this combines with the passive dynamic characteristics of the body to produce smooth co-ordinated action.
Commercial electronic speed controllers were used to reduce costs and development times.