Development of a humanoid robot prototype, HRP-5P, capable of heavy labor
Development of a humanoid robot
prototype, HRP-5P, capable of heavy labor
November 16, 2018, Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology
Researchers have developed a
humanoid robot prototype, HRP-5P, intended to autonomously perform heavy labor
or work in hazardous environments.
As a 182
cm, 101 kg humanoid robot, HRP-5P was built on HRP series technologies by
incorporating new hardware technologies. Within the series, it has unsurpassed
physical capabilities. Its robot intelligence comprises environmental
measurement and object recognition, full-body motion planning and
control, task description and execution management, and highly reliable
systemization technologies. Housing the intelligence in this body has enabled
autonomous gypsum board installation by the robot, which is a typical example
of heavy labor at construction sites. The use of HRP-5P, as a development
platform, in collaboration between industry and academia promises to
accelerate R&D toward practical application of humanoid robots at building
construction sites and in assembly of large structures such as aircraft and
ships.
The declining birthrate in Japan
is expected to cause serious labor shortages in construction and many other
industries. It is imperative to solve this issue using robot technologies.
These technologies also provide a compelling alternative to having construction
workers at building sites, aircraft facilities, or shipyards perform heavy
labor that is potentially hazardous. However, it has been difficult to make
these large-scale construction sites suitable for robots, which has discouraged
introduction of robots. Because humanoid robots physically resemble people,
they can work without requiring environmental changes, possibly relieving
workers of heavy labor.
In the
development of the HRP series, AIST has collaborated with several
private-sector companies, including Kawada Industries Inc. (now Kawada Robotics
Corp.), and has developed basic technologies for practical application. HRP-2
was capable of bipedal walking, lying down, standing up, walking on narrow
paths, and other actions. HRP-3 could walk on slippery surfaces and tighten
bolts on bridges by remote control. Disaster-response humanoid robot research
underway at AIST since 2011 led to a revised version of HRP-2 with improved
physical capabilities (such as limb length, range of motion, and joint output),
which could walk on rough terrain, turn valves, and perform other tasks
semi-autonomously based on 3-D environmental measurement.
However, its physical
capabilities were still insufficient for heavy labor such as gypsum board
installation, and it lacked enough degree of freedom and sufficient movable
range of joints to emulate human motion in complex environments. Toward this
end, AIST pursued development of the humanoid robot, HRP-5P, with physical
capabilities enabling it to substitute for people doing heavy labor.
Furthermore,
HRP-5P inherits the technologies of HRP series and utilizes patented technology
of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Figure
2. Map of surrounding area (top) and walking plan (bottom). Credit: Advanced
Industrial Science and Technology
A part of the development of
HRP-5P was supported by R&D commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial
Technology Development Organization (NEDO), "R&D on highly dependable
humanoid robot systems that can work in unstructured environments" in
"autonomous humanoid robots (innovative element robot technologies
field)" of "R&D on next-generation core robot technologies,"
and grant-in-aid for scientific research from the Japan Society for the
Promotion of Science, "Targeting full-body motion planning based on
environmental model acquisition that enables humanoid robots to adapt to
unknown environments" (research project number JP17H07391).
The
humanoid robot prototype HRP-5P was developed with a robust body and advanced
intelligence to work autonomously and provide an alternative source of heavy
labor.
·
At a height of 182 cm and weight of 101 kg, HRP-5P has a body with
a total of 37 degrees of freedom: two in its neck, three in its waist, eight in
its arms, six in its legs, and two in its hands. Except for the hands, this
represents the most freedom of movement in the HRP series to date. Compared to
the revised version of HRP-2, adding one degree of freedom to the waist and one
to the base of the arms has enabled operations more closely resembling human
motion. Accordingly, using both arms, HRP-5P can handle large objects such as
gypsum boards (1820 × 910 × 10 mm, approx. 11 kg) or plywood panels (1800 × 900
× 12 mm, approx. 13 kg).
·
·
To emulate human motion by the robot without as many degrees of
freedom as people, the researchers ensured a wider movable range of joints in
the hip and waist areas, where multiple joints are concentrated. For example,
hip joints that flex and extend the legs have a range of motion of 140° in
humans and 202° in HRP-5P (Fig. 1), and waist joints that turn the upper body
have a range of motion of 80° in humans and 300° in HRP-5P. This enables work
by the robot in a variety of postures, such as when deeply crouched with the
upper body twisted.
·
·
Joint torque and speed were approximately doubled on average
relative to the revised HRP-2, by employing high-output motors, adding cooling
to the drive mechanism, and adopting a joint drive system with certain joints
featuring multiple motors. As a result, the robot can do work involving heavy
loads, such as lifting a gypsum board from a stack. (Each arm of HRP-5P,
extended horizontally, can bear a weight of 2.9 kg, compared to 1.3 kg for the
revised version of HRP-2 and 0.9 kg for HRP-4.)
·
·
Using head-mounted sensors, the robot constantly acquires 3-D
measurements of the surrounding environment (at a frequency of 0.3 Hz). Even if
the field of view is blocked by objects used in work, stored and updated
measurement results enable execution of the walking plan while carrying a panel
or correction of walking when the feet slip. (Fig. 2).
·
·
Learning involves a convolutional neural network using a newly
constructed image database of work objects. The robot can detect ten types of
2-D object regions at a high precision of 90 % or more even against
low-contrast backgrounds or under dim lighting (Fig. 3).
·
·
It was possible to build a highly reliable robot system and maintain
the quality of large-scale software (with approx. 250,000 lines of code) by
arranging a virtual test environment for the robot
intelligence in the Choreonoid robot simulator and monitoring
software regression for 24 hours.
Figure
3. Example of object detection. Credit: Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology
Integration of these technologies
has enabled autonomous gypsum board installation in which HRP-5P handles and
carries large, heavy objects at a simulated residential construction site
independently.
Specifically,
this work involves the following series of operations.
1.
Generate a 3-D map of the surrounding environment, detect objects,
and approach the workbench.
2.
Lean against the workbench, slide one of the stacked gypsum boards
to separate it, and then lift it.
3.
While recognizing the surrounding environment, carry the gypsum
board to the wall.
4.
5.
Lower the gypsum board and stand it against the wall.
6.
7.
Using high-precision AR markers, recognize and pick up a tool.
8.
R&D on robot intelligence
will be promoted using this platform, targeting an alternative source of
autonomous manual labor at residential or office building sites, and in assembly
of large structures such as aircraft and ships. This will compensate for labor
shortages, free people from heavy labor, and help them focus on more
high-value-added work.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-11-humanoid-robot-prototype-hrp-5p-capable.html#jCp
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