Kobian
Kobian is a humanoid that loves to make faces. It's designed to study human-robot interaction and it uses its body and face to display different emotions, including happiness, anger, fear, and surprise.
- Creator
- Year
- 2007
- Country
- Japan 🇯🇵
- Categories
- Features
Did you know?
Kobian uses a double-jointed neck to achieve more expressive postures.
History
The Takanishi Laboratory at Waseda University has been developing robot heads since 1995. Over the years, the lab has unveiled several models of its WE series of expressive heads. The researchers have also focused on biped humanoid locomotion, and in 1996 they started developing the Wabian humanoid series. In 2007, they combined their most advanced WE head with their most advanced Wabian legs. The result was Kobian. In 2010, the researchers upgraded Kobian's motor controllers with smaller modules and equipped the head with several additional degrees of freedom. In 2014, the Waseda researchers explored the idea of Kobian as a robot comedian, programming it to perform a variety of funny skits and monitoring the audience's response.
Specs
- Overview
Capable of using facial expressions and body postures to show six emotional states: happiness, fear, surprise, sadness, anger, and disgust.
- Status
Ongoing
- Year
2007
- Website
- Width
- 50 cm
- Height
- 140 cm
- Length
- 45 cm
- Weight
- 62 kg
- Speed
- 1.8 km/h
- Sensors
Two cameras, microphone, IMU, six-axis force-torque sensor (in the feet and forearms), force sensors (hands).
- Actuators
Brushed DC servomotors
- Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
- 65 (Head: 24 DoF; Neck: 4 DoF; Waist: 2 DoF; Trunk: 1 DoF; Arm: 7 DoF x 2; Hands: 4 DoF x 2; Legs: 6 DoF x 2)
- Materials
Mainly aluminum
- Software
QNX real-time OS and custom control and behavior software.
- Power
Lithium-ion batteries, 20 minutes of operation. Or 48-V external power supply.
