A French artist and designer named Gael Langevin has taken the idea of a “build your own robot” kit to the next level through an ambitious hobbyist project called InMoov. The open-source project’s ultimate goal is a full-sized animatronic humanoid robot that can be printed and assembled by anyone with a 3D printer.
Langevin writes a detailed
blog about the project, charting its progress every step of the way by sharing sketches of his work and the trial-and-error process of designing the robot. The blog also includes the printer files for the robot for free download. The robot can then be assembled from those parts and off-the shelf electronics at a cost of less than $1,000. The robot’s parts are mainly made using acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, or ABS, plastic material.
Through his InMoov project, French artist and designer Gael Langevin is working on a humanoid robot that can be printed with a 3D printer then assembled at home. So far he has completed the robot’s head, arms, and hands, and is working on its torso. (Source: Gael Langevin)
Langevin -- who works as a sculptor and model maker for Factices Ateliers -- has so far finished the head, arms, and hands of the robot, which looks like an albino and a slightly more lifelike C3PO from the Star Wars films. He is currently working on its torso, according to his blog.
To program the robot, Langevin used a number of sketch programming languages, including Serialterm, MyRobotLab, and Arduino.
Langevin’s blog also includes a forum where people working on building the robot can share tips, ask questions, and generally geek out over the project. It is also a help center for assembly of the robot at home, with a photographic step-by-step guide to building it.
The artist has some fairly ambitious plans for a homemade robot in terms of capabilities, according to the blog. Voice recognition and object detection are among Langevin’s goals for his 3D-printed humanoid robot, which in a recent video can be shown already responding with movement to voice commands (watch it below).
In addition to the printer, in order to assemble an InMoov robot, you will need:
12 MG995/HK2598 servos
Eight Hitec HS805BB servos
0.8 mm nylon thread (or fishing line)
6V 44A batteries and charger, among others
There seems to be no end to the number of things that can be created using a 3D printer these days. Auto parts, reproductions of old recordings, and even haute couture clothing have now been printed this way, and the list of possibilities for 3D printing keeps growing.
Interesting, but it seems that in the video presentation there was deliberate effort to not show many details well enough to understand them. And possibly the robot was running at a safe speed, with the concept of moving much faster once the code was perfected. Also, all we saw was the head, shoulders and arms. Is that all that there is to this robot right now?
Yes, Charles, it seems some very interesting work is coming from robot enthusiasts, perhaps even more interesting than some university, military or privae-company research. Hobbyists of course have more flexibility and sometimes look at things from a different perspective, which may explain why their work is so creative. Of course, 3D printing--as you point out--is making the work of hobbyists and enthusiasts much easier as well, giving them a very powerful tool at home.
The beauty of 3D printing and of robotics is that both lend themselves to innovation from indepedent engineers, inventors and tinkerers. I think we'll be seeing a lot of ideas like this one for many years to come.
Thanks for covering this, Elizabeth. I love the convergence of 3D printing and robotics. In elegance, complexity, and functionality, this leaves the clunky robots I reported on using 3D printing in the dust: http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?section_id=1392&doc_id=241989
I found this project fascinating, not just because it shows again the potential for 3D printing, but also because it shows the level of commitment that Langevin has to his robotics and design work. I can't imagine creating a project with this much detail and ambition during the free time outside what is probably a very demanding full-time job. Obviously, Langevin is really into this work and wants to share his innovation with the world, and his detailed blog will allow people to follow his commitment every step of the way. I admit I also found the idea that you could build such a lifelike robot at home using a 3D printer a tad bit creepy...but with the way robotics innovation is going, I should get more comfortable with the idea!
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