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MANOI - Athlete Humanoid Robot - Under The Covers - Part 2 of 4

You rarely get an opportunity to take a close look at the internals of a new product before you buy. A chance to "lift the hood", or peek "under the kimono" is really a rare, and delightful experience. And, when the product is an advanced humanoid robot like MANOI that is still a couple of months from hitting the store shelves, it's even more interesting and exciting. Thanks to the folks at RT Corporation in Tokyo, and the key Kyosho management, we are able to share that experience with you.

Note: This is part 2 of a 4 part report. This section covers the robot disassembly process. In part 1, we looked at the MANOI exterior. Part 3 covers the basic robot mechanism including its limbs and servos. Part 4 features a video of the stripped down robot mechanism going through its motions.

After we got our initial close-up look at the robot, Okamoto-san spent about fifteen minutes explaining MANOI's design, how all the parts fit together, and answering questions. The group of experienced Robo-One competitors asked a lot of probing questions, and to Okamoto-san's credit, he responded openly and directly to all of them.

Then, the screw drivers came out, and surgery started on the robot in earnest.

 Kind of a "before" and "after" photo....

 Before the serious surgery started, Okamoto-san was kind
 enough to brief us on the robot's overall design and
 how all the body parts fit together.

 Like a fine watch, MANOI has been designed with a lot
 of care and attention to detail. Just the number of brackets,
 covers, and small screws is amazing.

 Most of MANOI's electronics are packed into two small
 cavities in the robots upper body.

 Getting the robots head apart proved to be a slightly
 difficult, though manageable challenge.

 The plastic shells are sturdy and fairly thick. They should
 stand up to a lot of use, though we expect MANOI's black
 finish to scratch or marr fairly quickly when he ventures out
 into the cold, cruel world.

 We couldn't take precise measurements, but there did
 appear to be enough spare room in the robots head to
 accomodate some hackers ideas.

 Every part of the robot has a solid, well thought-out, and
 sturdy feel to it.

 The main joints, like the hips, have load bearing plates and
 bushings to minimize torsional stress and wear on the servos.

 As we mentioned in Part 1 of this series, the robots servos
 are all heavy duty parts supplied by Kondo.

 Okay, now that we've got it apart, does anyone have any idea
 how to put it back together? !:')

In Part 3, we'll take a look at MANOI's underlying skeleton and servo linkages.

Related links:

Part 1 of 4 - MANOI - Athlete Humanoid Robot - Under The Covers - introduces MANOI with detailed photos and background on RT Corporation

Part 4 of 4 - MANOI on video

Kyosho - MANOI Website (English)

RT Corporation Website - Robot training, kits, and accessories (English)

Posted by Lem on April 5, 2006 | Permalink | Email this post

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Listed below are links to weblogs that reference MANOI - Athlete Humanoid Robot - Under The Covers - Part 2 of 4:

» MANOI - Athlete Humanoid robot disassembly from MAKE: Blog
Tempusmaster writes - "The new MANOI "Athlete Humanoid Robot" from Kyosho isn't scheduled to hit store shelves in Japan until June. We were invited to participate in a breifing, and complete disassembly of the robot last weekend in Tokyo.... [Read More]

Tracked on Apr 5, 2006 7:39:54 PM

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Comments:

I learn in university in Viet Nam, and i am learning about robot, so I want to know some information about robotic. I hope that I have some help of you
thank you very much!

Posted by: hung | Apr 17, 2006 11:11:33 PM

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