IngentaConnect iCub: the design and realization of an open humanoid platform for...

Authors: Tsagarakis, N.G.¹; Metta, G.²; Sandini, G.¹; Vernon, D.²; Beira, R.³; Becchi, F.⁴; Righetti, L.⁵; Santos-Victor, J.³; Ijspeert, A.J.⁵; Carrozza, M.C.⁶; Caldwell, D.G.¹

Source: Advanced Robotics, Volume 21, Number 10, 2007 , pp. 1151-1175(25)

Publisher: VSP, an imprint of Brill

Abstract:

The development of robotic cognition and the advancement of understanding of human cognition form two of the current greatest challenges in robotics and neuroscience, respectively. The RobotCub project aims to develop an embodied robotic child (iCub) with the physical (height 90 cm and mass less than 23 kg) and ultimately cognitive abilities of a 2.5-year-old human child. The iCub will be a freely available open system which can be used by scientists in all cognate disciplines from developmental psychology to epigenetic robotics to enhance understanding of cognitive systems through the study of cognitive development. The iCub will be open both in software, but more importantly in all aspects of the hardware and mechanical design. In this paper the design of the mechanisms and structures forming the basic 'body' of the iCub are described. The papers considers kinematic structures dynamic design criteria, actuator specification and selection, and detailed mechanical and electronic design. The paper concludes with tests of the performance of sample joints, and comparison of these results with the design requirements and simulation projects.

Keywords: HUMANOID; COGNITION; MECHANICAL DESIGN; FORCE SENSING

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1163/156855307781389419

Affiliations: 1: Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) Genoa 16163, Italy 2: LIRA-Lab, University of Genoa and Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) Genoa 16163, Italy 3: VisLab—Institute for Systems and Robotics, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon 1049-001, Portugal 4: Telerobot Srl, Genoa 16128, Italy 5: BIRG, EPFL, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland 6: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa 56127, Italy

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iCub: the design and realization of an open humanoid platform for cognitive and neuroscience research