We describe a new, quadruped robot platform, Aracna, which requires non-intuitive motor commands in order to locomote and thus provides an interesting challenge for gait learning algorithms, such as those frequently developed in the Evolutionary Computation and Artificial Life communities. Aracna is an open-source hardware project composed of off-the-shelf and 3D-printed parts, enabling other research teams to modify its design according to their scientific needs. Aracna was designed to overcome the shortcomings of a previous quadruped robot platform, whose legs were so heavy that the motors could not reliably execute the commands sent to them. We avoid this problem by locating all motors in the body core instead of on the legs and through a design which enables the servos to have a greater mechanical advantage. Specifically, each of the four legs has two joints controlled by separate four-bar linkage mechanisms that drive the pitch of the hip joint and knee joint. This novel design causes unconventional kinematics, creating an opportunity for gaitlearning algorithms, which excel in counter-intuitive design spaces where human engineers tend to underperform. Because it is low-cost, flexible, kinematically interesting, and and improvement over a previous design, Aracna provides a useful new hardware platform for testing algorithms that automatically generate robotic behaviors.

Aracna: An Open-Source Quadruped Platform for Evolutionary Robotics

One of the major obstacles in the study of HRI (human-robot interaction) with social robots is the lack of multiple identical robots that allow testing with large user groups. Often, the price of these robots prohibits using more than a handful. A lot of the commercial robots do not possess all the necessary features to perform specific HRI experiments and due to the closed nature of the platform, large modifications are nearly impossible. While open source social robots do exist, they often use high-end components and expensive manufacturing techniques, making them unsuitable for easy reproduction. To address this problem, a new social robotics platform, named Ono, was developed. The design is based on the DIY mindset of the maker movement, using off-the-shelf components and more accessible rapid prototyping and manufacturing techniques. The modular structure of the robot makes it easy to adapt to the needs of the experiment and by embracing the open source mentality, the robot can be easily reproduced or further developed by a community of users. The low cost, open nature and DIY friendliness of the robot make it an ideal candidate for HRI studies that require a large user group.

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/4177678/file/4177679.pdf

Systems overview of Ono: a DIY reproducible open source social robot

This paper presents the concrete application of the INNOWIZ methodology in a design education context. This methodical philosophy is used as a structural backbone in teaching the product design process to students in industrial product design. Observations and teaching experience concluded that these students need a METHOD to manage their creative processes, INSPIRATION in the form of tools and techniques to reach to the breakthrough ideas and make them more tangible one step at a time, and a PERSONAL APPROACH to tackle any specific situation and to deal with many different design briefs.

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/3005505/file/3056125.pdf

INNOWIZ: a guided framework for projects in industrial design education

This paper describes the innovative design process and production of a novel scorpion-based hexapod robot. The robotic scorpion was designed to be as reproducible, modular and adaptable as possible, being produced strictly using digital production techniques and off-the-shelf parts. These production techniques ensure that the robot and all its components become easy to reproduce and adapt, making it possible for everybody to build their own hexapod robot or optimize the robot in future work. In addition to our digital production, some innovative, anatomy-based features were integrated in the robot to solve several problems related to other hexapods. The use of elastics in the legs, for example, solves the high energy consumption of the motors and gravitational separation caused by the heavy weight of the hexapod. Furthermore, the scorpion tail is actuated by one single servomotor, simulating antagonistic muscles with ropes. By integrating these nature-inspired solutions, in combination with digitally produced parts, we improve the performance of a previously designed hexapod.

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8083640/file/8083643.pdf

Robbe Terryn

Papers

Innovative design of a hexapod scorpion through digital production techniques