Science Fiction Dictionary
A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z

 

Domo Robot: Unstructured Interaction Over Time

The Domo robot is a new force sensing and compliant humanoid robot under development in the Humanoid Robotics Group at MIT CSAIL. Created by Aaron Edsinger-Gonzales at MIT, it is designed to explore issues in general dexterous manipulation, visual perception, and learning. In particular, Domo is designed to reseach ways that robots can can interact with people and objects in unstructured environments over long periods of time.


(Edsinger Domo Robot )

Domo has the following specifications:

  • 29 active degrees of freedom (DOF)
  • Two 6 DOF force controlled arms using Series Elastic Actuators (SEA)
  • Two 6 DOF force controlled hands using SEAs
  • A 2 DOF force controlled neck using SEAs
  • Stereo pair of Point Grey Firewire CCD cameras
  • Two 4 DOF hands using Force Sensing Compliant (FSC) actuators
  • Cognitive processing by a 6 node [and growing] Debian Linux cluster running a mixture of C/C++/Python and utilizing the Yarp robot libraries.
  • Weight: 42lbs. Height: 34" tall. Arm span: 5' 6"
The torso is not currently actuated. The real-time sensorimotor system is managed by an embedded network of five DSP controllers.

The intent of the research is to advance a "creature based approach to humanoid robotics." The idea is that a creature-based robot can be left on for many days in unstructured environments, even interacting directly with people. New behaviors can be added and integrated with existing ones while the experiment is ongoing. To accomplish this, a robotic platform must be scalable and robust - unlike some systems that are designed only to perform specific motions.

The sensorimotor and cognitive architecture for the robot provides a scalable, realtime system with safety features at multiple levels. A creature based approach allows the robot to gain rich, prolonged sensorimotor experiences of its world during manipulation tasks. These experiences are generated from a set of core-competency behaviors and motivations.
(From Domo: A Force Sensing Humanoid Robot for Manipulation Research)

The ability to interact with human beings in unstructured environments for long periods is key to bringing to life such science fictional robots as R. Daneel Olivaw, the robot detective in Isaac Asimov's 1953 novel Caves of Steel. Even child playmate robots like Teddy from Super-Toys Last All Summer Long (the basis for AI, the Spielberg/Kubrick movie) by Brian Aldiss need this capability

Update 12-Apr-2007: Here's a short update (and more recent pictures) of Domo Robot - No Mere Housekeeper. (End update.)

Read more at Edsinger Domo; also, a very interesting and readable paper, Domo: A Force Sensing Humanoid Robot for Manipulation Reasearch (pdf). The paper provides a lot of detail on how robots should be built to operate continuously for very long periods.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for the tip on this robot.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/25/2005)

Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.

| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |

Would you like to contribute a story tip? It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add it here.

Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )

Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")

Blue Collar AI Goes To Work To Mine Its Own Crypto
Blue collar bot.

HandelBot Helps Two-Handed Robots Learn Piano
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'

Woven Fiber Electronic Skin For Robots
'... all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.' - Harl Vincent, 1934.

Robots For Hire En Masse
'...small investors profited, too.' - Raymond E. Banks, 1956.

 

Google
  Web TechNovelgy.com   

Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.

 

 

 

 

Science Fiction Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's   1950's
1960's   1970's
1980's   1990's
2000's   2010's

Current News

Moscow Attacked By Hundreds Of Drones
'It hurtled on down with inconceivable speed until it was visible as thousands of tiny robot planes...'

Nifty Folding Electric Bicycles!
'Separate paths were provided for them...'

FTC: Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'

Switzerland May Cap Population At Ten Million
'The population of Castle Hagedorn was fixed...'

Project Silica Offers 'Long-Term' Digital Storage
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'

Can 'Tactical Umbrellas' Shield One From Drones
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.'

Crystalline Structures In Space, You Say?
A massive space borne lifeform from ST:TNG.

Garçon! A Menu For Artemis II, S'il Vous Plaît
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.'

Amazing Photonic Crystal Light Sail
'That sail will be twenty thousand miles at the wide part.'

Blue Collar AI Goes To Work To Mine Its Own Crypto
Blue collar bot.

Rogue AI Replicated Itself
'Sapiro’s computer just kept dialing at random, hanging up on humans, until it got a fellow computer of the same type as itself.'

HandelBot Helps Two-Handed Robots Learn Piano
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'

Woven Fiber Electronic Skin For Robots
'... all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'

When AI Takes Its First Breath
Any suggestions?

Chinese Aircar Light And Airy, Not For Blade Runners
Daytime version.

The Morphing Wheel And The Smartwheel
'If you surf over a bump, the spokes contract to roll over it.'

More SF in the News Stories

More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories

Home | Glossary | Invention Timeline | Category | New | Contact Us | FAQ | Advertise |
Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction™

Copyright© Technovelgy LLC; all rights reserved.