Humanoid TeenSize Open Platform NimbRo-OP
This addresses a bottleneck in robotics research by providing an accessible platform for studying challenges with larger humanoid robots, though it is incremental as it extends existing KidSize concepts to TeenSize.
The paper tackles the lack of affordable TeenSize humanoid robots for research by presenting the NimbRo-OP, a low-cost open platform designed for easy manufacturing and modification, enabling dynamic motions like bipedal locomotion and kicking.
In recent years, the introduction of affordable platforms in the KidSize class of the Humanoid League has had a positive impact on the performance of soccer robots. The lack of readily available larger robots, however, severely affects the number of participants in Teen- and AdultSize and consequently the progress of research that focuses on the challenges arising with robots of larger weight and size. This paper presents the first hardware release of a low cost Humanoid TeenSize open platform for research, the first software release, and the current state of ROS-based software development. The NimbRo-OP robot was designed to be easily manufactured, assembled, repaired, and modified. It is equipped with a wide-angle camera, ample computing power, and enough torque to enable full-body motions, such as dynamic bipedal locomotion, kicking, and getting up.