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Nero Robot Isn't Fiddling Around (Video)

We were a little disappointed at ROBO-ONE 13 when some of the larger, MEGA-sized, robots we'd been following failed to clear the pre-screening test and put on their demonstrations for the audience. One of the most interesting new competitors is Nero, a giant that towers over the competition at 68 cm tall and tips the scales at just under 5 kg. Thankfully we got several chances to see Nero perform in the ring at the 1st Kondo Robot Battle event earlier this week.

Nero was developed at the University of Electro-Communications by Tatsuya Ishikawa, Yuta Sugiura, and Manabu Sugiura (think Sugiura Brothers... ), and gets its name from the Italian word for 'black' - his dominant color.

While Nero's moves may look a little clumsy compared to his smaller cousins, keep in mind that the builders are in the early stages of experimentation with robots this size. The heavier weight, higher COG, dramatically increased shock and stress, and the new power and torque requirements mean that they have to completely rethink many of the approaches used with the smaller humanoids.

One obvious challenge that needs to be addressed is their attack strategy. Most of their competitors are going to be around 2 kg and about half their height, at least for the immediate future. So effective techniques have to be developed to attack and defeat the smaller robots need to be developed and finely honed. We're sure it won't take them long to figure it out.

Here's Nero vs. Hound-G during Monday's event:

Posted by Lem on April 30, 2008 | Permalink | Email this post

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Comments:

Thanks Lem -- another great video. It's amazing how quickly humanoid robots are progressing.

Boy, when Nero falls on his face, he really makes a thud, doesn't he? I wonder if it'd be possible to detect the fall and put the arms out, as people do. Of course if not done just right, you'd probably break the arms.

Fascinating stuff -- please keep it coming!

Posted by: Joe Strout | May 7, 2008 12:21:22 PM

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