FIGURE 11A.
FIGURE 11B.
FIGURE 12.
Robotis Bioloid Kits
The Bioloid system components
are similar to the LEGO NXT kits in
that the actuators and supporting
members can be assembled in
‘building block’ fashion to create
bipedal robots, multi-axis arms (like
CrustCrawler’s AX- 12 Smart Arm),
interesting creatures, wheeled
robots, commercial proof-of-concept
mechanisms, or anything that you can
think of that needs intelligent motion
control. The Robotis Ollo kits are also
very similar to the LEGO system in
that they use plastic snap-together
parts to assemble simple kits for
younger robotics experimenters from
ages 7 to 10. The Robotis Beginner’s
Kit priced at $349 is a great start
in learning this new type of servo
technology but many experimenters
begin with the $899 Bioloid
Comprehensive Kit shown in
Figure 13.
The Comprehensive Kit comes
with 18 AX- 12 Dynamixel actuator
servos, a CM- 5 controller, an AX-S1
sensor module, and over 100 plastic
structural brackets with associated
fasteners from which you can create
over 12 different robots. These
include the popular bipedal humanoid
robot, a quadruped puppy, robot
dinosaurs, six-legged insect robots,
and an autonomous exploratory
robot.
Unlike dedicated kits, these kits
can be configured in any fashion
you desire in developing a robotic,
computer-controlled mechanism. The
top end “Expert Kit” at $2,999 is a bit
beyond most experimenter’s budgets
but has found uses in university and
industrial applications. Robotis is
proud that it furnished 50 kits to the
US Naval Academy.
You can go to robotis.com to
look over their line of products or to
crustcrawler.com or robotshop.com
to buy a kit. As mentioned earlier,
their downloadable manuals are easy
to understand with few translation
problems.
Final Thoughts
There are many amazing robotic
products made in Korea. The EveR-1
and EveR- 3 female humanoids from
KITECH that first made the scene back
in 2006 will evolve into the EveR- 4,
which is expected to debut in 2010,
as well as a male version.
Newer versions of the HUBO are
seen on TV and in the news around
the world. Robot home appliances
from Korea are first rate and very
functional. It appears Korea will be in
the forefront of robotics for years to
come, both in industrial and domestic
applications. SV
Tom Carroll can be reached
at TWCarroll@aol.com.
FIGURE 13.
80 SERVO 05.2009