The use of humanoid robots is spreading throughout the world. Humanoid robots are designed to imitate the human body and differ from other types of robots, such as industrial robots, because their movement is human-like, based on leg locomotion, especially bipedal gait. They move through and interact with the “real world,” performing an increasing diversity of specialized and everyday tasks, unlike factory manipulators and other robots that work in highly structured environments.
Significantly, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to send a humanoid robot into space in late 2020 as part of an unmanned mission. The humanoid named Vyommitra, a legless female robot, will help ISRO prepare for its Gaganyaan manned spaceflight mission, the country's first attempt to send humans into space scheduled for 2022. Before carrying out this mission, ISRO will send Vyommitra , who can speak, but does not speak. don't move too much, into space.
What is a humanoid robot?
The overall appearance and body shape of a humanoid robot is constructed to resemble the human body. Generally, humanoid robots have a torso with head, arms and legs, although some of their types may only have some specific human parts, for example from the waist up. Some forms of robots have heads designed to replicate human facial features, such as the face, eyes, and mouth. Humanoid robots built to aesthetically resemble a male human are called androids, while female counterparts are called gynoids.
Leonardo Da Vinci is credited with creating one of the first forms of humanoids in 1495. Modeled in armor, he could perform several human functions such as sitting, standing, and walking.
How do humanoids move, speak and perform actions?
Inventors and engineers study the structure and behavior of the human body (biomechanics) and try to simulate human cognition, which relies on sensory information to acquire perceptual and motor skills. Top-notch sensors and actuators are deployed to enable humanoids to perform multiple functions. Based on computational models of human behavior, sensors help robots detect their environments, while cameras allow them to see clearly. Motors or actuators placed at strategic points guide these robots in movements and gestures. Creating your fully functional and realistic versions requires the following mechanisms:
Sensors
Sensors measure attributes of the human world. In addition to essential planning and control requirements, sensing plays a significant role in robotic paradigms. To help humanoids sense the environment, sensors empower them with the ability to touch, smell, see, hear, and balance properly.
While the auditory sensor helps humanoids hear, decipher and execute instructions. Thanks to the touch sensor, they are prevented from bumping into things and causing harm to themselves. A force sensor helps them maintain balance and orientation, and heat and pain sensors let them know harm or impending harm. Additionally, there are facial sensors that make humanoids capable of a wide range of expressions. Therefore, sensors can be categorized according to the physical process they work with or according to the type of sensory information they provide as output.
Scientists are continually working to make sensors more efficient at performing multiple tasks. They turned their gaze to proprioceptive sensors (e.g., touch, muscle extension, limb position) to sense the position, orientation, and speed of the humanoid's body and joints. Some of the areas that have received increasing emphasis include: accelerometers to measure speed from which speed can be calculated through integration; tilt sensors for measuring tilt; and force sensors placed on the robot's hands and feet to measure the force of contact with the environment.
Attention was also paid to position sensors that indicate the actual position of the robot (from which the speed can be calculated by derivation) or even to speed sensors. Tactile sensors provide information about forces and torques transferred between the robot and other objects; they use sets of haptics to provide data about what has been touched.
In humanoid robots, vision sensors function to recognize objects and determine their properties. CCD cameras, which use the electromagnetic spectrum to produce an image, are used as the vision faculty of humanoids. Typically, microphones are implanted to activate the functionality of sound sensors that allow robots to hear speech and environmental sounds.
Actuators or motors
Actuators or motors responsible for robot movement help robots move and make gestures similar to those of a flexible human body. Strong and efficient actuators can perform a wide range of actions like humans or even better.
Humanoid robots mainly use rotary actuators that perform human movements, as well as muscles and joints, although with a different structure. Actuators can be hydraulic, electric, piezoelectric, ultrasonic or pneumatic.
Hydraulic actuators operate in low-speed, high-load applications. Coreless electric motor actuators are best suited for high-speed, low-load applications, although both can only act compliantly through tight control strategies.
Piezoelectric actuators, on the other hand, can produce a small movement with high force capacity after applying voltage. They are capable of ultra-precise positioning and generating and handling high forces or pressures in static or dynamic situations.
Ultrasonic actuators generate movements in the micrometric order at ultrasonic frequencies (above 20 kHz). They can be used to control vibration, positioning and fast switching applications.
Pneumatic actuators depend on the compressibility of the gas to function. Inflated, they expand along the axis and, when deflated, they contract. When one of its ends is fixed, the other will move in a linear trajectory. Intended for low speed and low/medium load applications, pneumatic actuators comprise cylinders, bellows, pneumatic motors, pneumatic stepper motors and pneumatic artificial muscles.
AI-based interaction
Once mechanisms that mimic human body parts are implemented, inventors program the instructions and codes that would allow humanoids to perform specific functions. Powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), they can swipe and respond when asked.
AI is key to improving the level at which humanoid robots can interact with humans. You can make them decipher commands, questions, directions, even understand random and ambiguous statements and give answers full of humor and sarcasm.
Functions of humanoid robots
Initially, AI was used on humanoids for research and experimental tools in several scientific areas, such as studying bipedal locomotion to explore ways to create leg prosthetics, ankle-foot orthoses, realistic biological leg prosthetics, and forearm prosthetics for the disabled. neuromuscular. Some were created for entertainment purposes, singing, playing music, dancing and speaking to the audience.
Now, the purpose of humanoids has extended beyond research and experimentation to functional purposes such as performing various human tasks, such as interacting with human tools and environments, and occupying different roles in the employment sector. They are an increasingly common feature in the workplace and can perform human tasks and act as personal assistants, receptionists, receptionists and automotive manufacturing line workers. They may help around the home to help the sick and elderly as domestic helpers and nursing assistants, perform dirty or dangerous work, play and use tools, operate equipment and vehicles designed for the human form.
These realistic robots can also be useful in helping children or anyone who needs help with day-to-day tasks or interactions. There have been many studies pointing to the effectiveness of humanoid robots in supporting children with autism.
It has been decided by several countries to send humanoid robots on dangerous and distant space exploration missions, without the need to turn back and return to Earth once the mission is completed. In essence, robots can perform any task a human can, thanks to AI algorithms.
From now on
Scientists are striving to reduce energy consumption in humanoid movements. In this context, studies on the dynamics, control and stabilization of walking bipedal robots on the surface have acquired crucial importance. Equally important is maintaining the robot's center of gravity over the center of the support area to provide a stable position.
Because a humanoid needs information about the contact force and its current and desired motion to maintain dynamic balance while walking, the Zero Moment Point (ZMP) is an essential balance approach that has received attention from inventors. Additionally, they are focusing on planning and control to enable humanoids to move in complex environments, armed with the knowledge of self-collision detection, trajectory planning, and obstacle avoidance.
Humanoid robots include structures with variable flexibility that provide safety for the robot itself and also for people, more degrees of freedom and wide task availability. To optimize these functionalities, scientists plan to further improve planning and control strategies in the functioning of robots.
Engineers at MIT and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a method for controlling balance in a two-legged teleoperated robot. It marks an essential step towards enabling a humanoid to perform high-impact tasks in challenging environments. The robot is controlled remotely by a human operator wearing a vest that transmits information about the human's movement and ground reaction forces to the robot. Through the vest, the human operator can direct the robot's locomotion and also feel its movements. If the human feels the robot starting to tip, the human can adjust to rebalance themselves and the robot.
In Japan, Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University and his team members have developed a humanoid robot with the capacity for human-like conversation. In the human-robot symbiotic interaction project ERATO ISHIGURO, they focused on the affinity process that arises during the movement of the robot with a human. To this end, they developed a child-like android called “ibuki”, which could walk along with the human using equipped wheels.
In short
Humanoid robots can talk like us, walk like us, and express a wide range of emotions. Some of them can talk; others may remember the last interaction you had with them. With constant advances in AI, humanoid robots are ready to acquire more developed human attributes and skills. Advanced Android robotics are ready to facilitate dramatic improvements in life in the future.