Twin Tweaks ...
construction a breeze, but the screws
seem to come out as easily as they go
in. It’s nothing a little Lock-Tite wouldn’t fix, but it’s also nice to know that
the Robophilo probably wouldn’t lose
an arm in the middle of a golf swing.
The Price of a
Low Price
ROBOPHILO FINISHED.
the Forward-Backward Dash and the
Marathon test the limits of bipedal
mobility, and events like Weight Lifting
and the Lift and Carry stress balance
and strength. The Robonova seems
like a popular choice for these events,
but we think the hefty Bioloid could
also be a strong competitor. Without
modification, the Robophilo would
face an uphill climb (Stair Climbing is
actually another android event held at
RoboGames). The catch about all of
these events is that the Huros have to
be autonomous. In that case, the
Bioloid might look like a better option
because of the sophisticated sensors
that each and every Dynamixel servo
ROBOPHILO HANGER.
module is equipped with. But
one shouldn’t count out the
Robophilo either — its PCB has
numerous open ports for
additional servos and sensors,
and with the C upgrade it
proves to be a formidable
autonomous competitor.
The epic RoboGames also
include a number of remote
controlled humanoid robot
events. The remote control
events include Kung-Fu, Golf,
and even Taiko Drumming.
Our three humanoids fit the
bill as far as height and weight
restrictions for these events,
and at first glance the
Robophilo might seem like a better
contender for these events than the
Bioloid. The reason for this is that the
Bioloid is the only one of the three
that does not come with a remote
control, but an extra receiver module
can be added to make it controllable
by radio frequency. The impressive
sensor arrays on each of the
Dynamixel modules give it more than
enough autonomous capabilities to
compensate for this inconvenience,
but such upgrades would likely be a
burden on a lot of hobbyists that have
already grappled with the steep price
tag. The Robophilo, on the other
hand, comes with a remote and is
ready to go — it even comes with some
preprogrammed karate chops, and the
motion editor would be a great way to
add some more Kung-Fu moves.
Such physically demanding events
like Kung-Fu and Taiko Drumming
would necessitate robust robots, and
once again we think the Robophilo
would be up to scratch. The
Robophilo miraculously seems to be
free of one of the major concerns
we’ve had about the Bioloid and
especially the Robonova — loose
screws. Perhaps it’s due to the pitfalls
of mass production or loose
tolerances, but the screws that hold
the Robophilo together certainly seem
determined to stay put from our own
clumsy cross threads or some other
mystical mechanism. The fine metal
threads of the Robonova’s sleek metal
frame may have made the initial
Overall, the Robophilo is a bit of a
Curate’s Egg — good in some parts
and bad in others. The troublesome
servo casings, the ill fitting servo
horns and body panels, the weak and
unruly servos, and the shortage of
screws are all quite irksome. Even the
seemingly neat addition of a hanger is
a mixed bag. Unlike our other two
androids, the Robophilo comes with
its own hanger for storage or display.
The hanger is a nice idea and
refreshingly simple to put together,
but it is not very stable and we had to
add our own extra base to it so it
wouldn’t topple over. The hanger
looks like a gallows, where an unruly
Robophilo could be justly put to death
for criminal frustration.
Actually, that would be hyperbolic,
because the Robophilo is not
significantly more tedious to build
than any other servomotor humanoid,
but these numerous small details
worked together to somewhat tarnish
our opinion of the robot. To make
sure we weren’t crazy, we searched
for other reviews of the Robophilo to
see if our sentiment was widespread
or a fluke. Searching for other
commentary on the Robophilo online
returned a number of glowing reviews
that seemed somewhat incongruent
with our experience. Then we noticed
that most of these reviews were for
the Ready-To-Walk version of the
Robophilo, which clocks in at $100
more than the kit version for a grand
total of $499. This is still significantly
less than other humanoid robot kits,
and for tinkerers that are short on
time or money it might be a decent
option. Even so, other reviewers also
noted the weak analog servos that
were the big money saving item.
They did, however, also tout the
expandability of the kit as a way to
62 SERVO 07.2008
