Stan

Design > Mechanical

Stan

Pictures are HERE. These pictures are from 2008 and show the mechanical chassis made by Wayne Salhany for a humanoid robot. He named the project "Stan" intending that the robot would be able to stand and walk with a human-like gait. This goal has apparently not been achieved by anyone more than ten years later. The number of degrees of freedom designed into this robot skeleton would seem to be enough to do a fairly good job but the project could not be completed at that time due to lack of funds. It is still a work in progress as of mid 2019.

The engineering (and physics) behind building a humanoid robot is "idealized" to a certain extent in the engineering concept of the inverted pendulum. The inverted pendulum is known for its instability but control systems have been successful in "solving" this supposed problem in the creation of the Segway transportation device and many similar imitations. The feasibility of such solutions is accepted as proven but in practical terms the state of the art leaves a lot to still be done.

Human anatomy could be described as column of inverted pendulums end on end. It could be described something like this. The "head" rests on C1, C1 sits on C2, etc. down to T1 through L1 to the hips. The hips sit on the thigh bone (femur). The femurs balance on the lower leg and then at the bottom of the stack is the heel bone are calcaneous. This stack is comprised of about 20 inverted pendulums and this may be the first design to suggest a design capable of addressing the task.

Robot DHQ suggests that applying the power of multiple independent logic elements to the problem can reach the goal. Read about the logic elements HERE. Read about the internal communications design HERE.

GDMN in the chart above stands for Generalized Decision-Making Node, the precursor to the modules in the current design. It was also the starting point for the Integrated Circuit Signal Generation Device for which U.S. Patent No. 8,384,442 B2 was granted to Wayne F. Salhany on Feb. 26, 2013.

This robot skeleton was dubbed the CTI-RS1. It is currently in storage in pretty much the same condition as you see in this picture. The significant features of the build are as follows.

Range of motion of all joints is similar to that of a human.
A total of 43 degrees of freedom are designed into the mechanical chassis of the android: fourteen (14) in the legs and hips, fourteen (14) in the arms and shoulders, and fifteen (15) in the neck and torso.
Seven (7) D.O.F. are designed into each leg: ankle, knee and hip.
Seven (7) D.O.F. are designed into each arm: wrist, elbow and shoulder.
Three (3) D.O.F. are designed into each cervical scapular joint, where each arm (shoulder) is attached to the backbone. Nine (9) D.O.F. are designed into the backbone and neck, six below the shoulder attachment and three above.
Structure is made of steel and aluminum.
CTI-RS1 was designed to be constructed with a limited set of parts that could be used in multiple sites within the assembly.
The intent was to sell and deliver the skeleton as a product in a kit or in partially assembled form.
Assembly, disassembly and re-assembly can be done using common hand tools.
It is designed to be a set of components that could be customized, reused and adapted to other purposes.
The robot skeleton is a complete mechanical assembly to which the maker can add gears, servos and sensors, etc.
Joints use nonmetallic Ertalyte TX Polyester sleeve bearings for low friction and low maintenance. (They don't require oil.)
Commonly available materials and components were used as much as possible. The sleeve bearings are available from SDP/SI.
The robot skeleton is designed to have proportions similar to an adult human, but can be customized.
The lengths of the body segments are intentionally flexible. For example, legs can be shorter or longer. The same thing goes for the arms, torso and neck.
If you are interested to know more use one of the question or comment forms to request more info.

Feedback and suggestions are always welcome.