Albert Hubo

A male humanoid robot with fluffy white hair and a mustache in the style of Albert Einstein waves. — "Let me explain mass-energy equivalence to you, human." Photo: KAIST

Albert Hubo is a humanoid robot that combines a mechanical body with a robotic replica of Albert Einstein's head. Its face can show happiness, sadness, anger, and surprise—and it always looks smart.

Creators

KAIST and Hanson Robotics

Year

2005

Country

South Korea 🇰🇷

Categories

Features

Click through multiple photos to see closer and closer-up photos of a humanoid robot with bushy mustache, eyebrows and hair — See a close-up of Albert Hubo's face. Photos: KAIST

Did you know?

Albert Hubo shook hands with former U.S. President George W. Bush in 2005.

A male humanoid robot with a realistic face and white body held up by an overhead harness. — "Has anyone seen my wig?" Photo: Volker Steger/Photo Researchers

Professor Jun Ho Oh demonstrates Hubo and Albert Hubo. Video: PlasticPals

History

Albert Hubo was developed by a research team led by Professor Jun-Ho Oh, a researcher at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) and director of the Hubo Lab. The body of Albert Hubo is based on the third version of the KAIST Humanoid Robot (KHR-3), introduced in 2004, which also originated the Hubo humanoid series. The head of Albert Hubo was made by Hanson Robotics, a company specializing in ultra-realistic androids (most famous for its Philip K. Dick android).

A man holds the face of a robot up to his face. — Maybe Albert Einstein was a robot after all. Photo: Ana Nance/Redux

A male humanoid robot shakes the hand of a suited former President Bush while another man looks on. — Bot meets Bush. Photo: Yonhap/AP Photo

Specs

Overview: Lifelike appearance and facial expressions, dynamic humanlike walking.
Status: Discontinued
Year: 2005
Website: hubolab.kaist.ac.kr
Height: 125 cm
Weight: 57 kg
Speed: 1.37 km/h
Sensors: Two cameras, gyroscope, accelerometer, three-axis foot sensor.
Actuators: 42 brushed DC motors (body) and 28 servomotors (head).
Degrees of Freedom (DoF): 66 (Neck: 3 DoF; Arm: 6 DoF x 2; Leg: 6 DoF x 2; Torso: 1 DoF; Hand: 5 DoF x 2; Face: 28 DoF)
Materials: Frubber artificial skin for the face. Exterior is plastic and frame is aluminum.
Compute: CPU with wireless network.
Software: Windows XP and RTX Real-Time Extension
Power: Lithium-polymer battery, 2 hours of operation