Kondo, the Japanese humanoid robot kit company, is about to add a new robot kit to its already impressive line-up. In mid-December the new "KHR-1HV" humanoid robot kit is scheduled to hit store shelves in Japan.
Although the model name is similar to the popular KHR-1 robot, the KHR-1HV includes some really dramatic improvements to the KHR-2HV robot, as you can see from the preliminary Kondo 2007 robot catalog page below.
The KHR-1HV features 19 degrees of freedom with additional 2 DOF that allow the legs to rotate at the hip, the Kondo tub style foot/soles, KRS-4024SHV shoulder servos that have metal gears and a larger rotational range, and the full blown RCB-3 controller board.
These improvements position the KHR-1HV as a higher performance version of the KHR-2HV rather than just an upgraded KHR-1. And, as you might expect, the higher performance comes at a higher price. Although Kondo intends on releasing the robot kit as an 'open price' item, the target list price is 126,000 yen which positions it nicely between the KHR-2HV and Kyosho's MANOI AT01.
One other observation - the preliminary 2007 catalog doesn't have any mention of the original KHR-1 robot kit. We don't want to read too much into this, but it may indicate that Kondo is ready to phase out the classic kit that started the whole hobby humanoid robot revolution just a little over two years ago.
That doesn't mean that KHR-1 robots will become obsolete - far from it. In fact, original KHR-1 robots can be easily upgraded to take advantage of the RCB-3 controller performance improvements and ease of programming. We're currently in the process of upgrading Gulliver, our KHR-1 robot to use the RCB-3 board and will publish a detailed report as soon as we complete the project.
Related links:
Kondo Robot Website (Japanese)
Good to see continued progress in hobby robotics. I notice that many of the connecting brackets in that photo appear to be plastic, just like the Manoi and Bioloid. Maybe the industry is converging on this material as having the right combination of strength, weight, and cost?
Posted by: Joe Strout | November 29, 2006 at 02:52 AM
Joe,
I agree, it is definitely good to see more progress in hobby robotics. !:')
The KHR-2HV, KHR-1HV, and the MANOI AT01 all use the same re-enforced molded plastic brackets - though some of the sizes are different to accommodate different servo dimensions. As you pointed out, the Bioloid is another excellent example.
My impression, which certainly could be wrong, is that increased volumes have driven the shift to molded plastic. The production molds can be quite expensive, though when the volumes reach a certain point they enable the manufacturer to drop their cost without compromising on quality or performance. When the KHR-1 was first introduced a few years ago no one knew if it would sell or not. Now the demand is obvious and growing rapidly, so it made a lot of sense to shift to a more high volume, lower cost, manufacturing design.
I like the plastic brackets on my AT01 much better than the aluminum frames on my KHR-1. The brackets snap together and then are locked in place with a screw. They are extremely easy to disassemble if you need to replace a servo or make some other mechanical change.
Posted by: Lem | November 30, 2006 at 12:59 AM
They gotta do something about that face. The eyes look cross-eyed, not mean. Like someone is squeezing his 'nads. ;-)
Posted by: Seth | December 01, 2006 at 09:22 AM
Does anyone know wher I can purchase the RCB-3 controller board? I don't read Japanese, so the Kondo website was not very user friendly.
Posted by: Max | December 21, 2006 at 10:32 AM