5 ms·

They may be lower cost than the status quo, but $3199 to $3699 is out of my reach as a (non professional) hobbyist. I hope maybe one day though! https://sites.

They may be lower cost than the status quo, but $3199 to $3699 is out of my reach as a (non professional) hobbyist. I hope maybe one day though! https://sites.google.com/view/roboicsbenchmarks/getting-started https://sites.google.com/view/roboicsbenchmarks/getting-star... https://www.trossenrobotics.com/d-kitty.aspx https://www.trossenrobotics.com/d-kitty.aspx https://www.trossenrobotics.com/d-claw.aspx https://www.trossenrobotics.com/d-claw.aspx Not quite in the realm like the $50 to $90 'Google Voice / Google Vision AI' kits https://aiyprojects.withgoogle.com/ https://aiyprojects.withgoogle.com/

gene-h 7y ago
The main cost is the actuators. The servos they use are the only ones out there with integrated feed back from the sensors which is required so they can calculate hardware safety. They also have, albeit pretty bad, torque control which is necessary for many approaches to controlling legged robots and manipulators.
- lnsru 7y ago
  Wouldn’t stepper motor with encoder and current sensor be cheaper?
  - codesushi42 7y ago
    That wouldn't work for a robotic hand.
  - gene-h 7y ago
    I'm skeptical that a stepper motor would be able to support it's own weight and more without a gearbox. This is especially important for making serial manipulators. Also keep in mind that what they're aiming for here is repeatability so that researchers can easily compare their algorithms. That means using parts that don't vary too much and minimizing the amount of assembly researchers have to do. There are much cheaper knock off versions of these actuators, although they may not be as repeatable. At the very least they aren't as well documented.
    - Iv 7y ago
      Steppers are highly repeatable.
      - tastroder 7y ago
        This is more about repeatable experiments than particular movements. Regarding the price, the actuators seem to be ~240USD. A good stepper motor with the appropriate feedback mechanism to make it suitable for servo-like control plus a modern stepper motor controller that is suited for the robotics context will likely not be (much) cheaper and you have to hack together the servo functionality, tune settings, etc. - which seems detrimental if the goal is repeatability accross teams. I'm not in the target audience for these robots either but from the perspective of robustness and repeatable research they don't look too shabby.
- contingencies 7y ago
  According to a Chinese SCARA motor producer, Tamagawa is a notable Japanese manufacturer of servos used in SCARA robots. http://www.tamagawa-seiki.com/products/servomotor/ http://www.tamagawa-seiki.com/products/servomotor/
pmorais 7y ago
You’re not the intended audience. This is meant for small research labs that are just starting up and want to enter the RL/Robotics research space and can’t afford a $400,000 PR2 or $150,000 shadow hand.
- rficcaglia 7y ago
  Totally worth the money :) https://youtu.be/c3Cq0sy4TBs https://youtu.be/c3Cq0sy4TBs
  - watersb 7y ago
    "The Proud Robot", Henry Kuttner, Astounding 1943 https://www.prosperosisle.org/spip.php?article863 https://www.prosperosisle.org/spip.php?article863
- markisus 7y ago
  How do you know these prices? I generally find these companies do not publish them on their websites
  - toxik 7y ago
    Hardly secret around institutions that have them.
- richk449 7y ago
  You can buy a meca500 for 15k USD. If you are just doing learning stuff, it should be more than adequate.

gene-h 7y ago

The main cost is the actuators. The servos they use are the only ones out there with integrated feed back from the sensors which is required so they can calculate hardware safety. They also have, albeit pretty bad, torque control which is necessary for many approaches to controlling legged robots and manipulators.

lnsru 7y ago
Wouldn’t stepper motor with encoder and current sensor be cheaper?
- codesushi42 7y ago
  That wouldn't work for a robotic hand.
- gene-h 7y ago
  I'm skeptical that a stepper motor would be able to support it's own weight and more without a gearbox. This is especially important for making serial manipulators. Also keep in mind that what they're aiming for here is repeatability so that researchers can easily compare their algorithms. That means using parts that don't vary too much and minimizing the amount of assembly researchers have to do. There are much cheaper knock off versions of these actuators, although they may not be as repeatable. At the very least they aren't as well documented.
  - Iv 7y ago
    Steppers are highly repeatable.
    - tastroder 7y ago
      This is more about repeatable experiments than particular movements. Regarding the price, the actuators seem to be ~240USD. A good stepper motor with the appropriate feedback mechanism to make it suitable for servo-like control plus a modern stepper motor controller that is suited for the robotics context will likely not be (much) cheaper and you have to hack together the servo functionality, tune settings, etc. - which seems detrimental if the goal is repeatability accross teams. I'm not in the target audience for these robots either but from the perspective of robustness and repeatable research they don't look too shabby.
contingencies 7y ago
According to a Chinese SCARA motor producer, Tamagawa is a notable Japanese manufacturer of servos used in SCARA robots. http://www.tamagawa-seiki.com/products/servomotor/ http://www.tamagawa-seiki.com/products/servomotor/

pmorais 7y ago

You’re not the intended audience. This is meant for small research labs that are just starting up and want to enter the RL/Robotics research space and can’t afford a $400,000 PR2 or $150,000 shadow hand.

rficcaglia 7y ago
Totally worth the money :) https://youtu.be/c3Cq0sy4TBs https://youtu.be/c3Cq0sy4TBs
- watersb 7y ago
  "The Proud Robot", Henry Kuttner, Astounding 1943 https://www.prosperosisle.org/spip.php?article863 https://www.prosperosisle.org/spip.php?article863
markisus 7y ago
How do you know these prices? I generally find these companies do not publish them on their websites
- toxik 7y ago
  Hardly secret around institutions that have them.
richk449 7y ago
You can buy a meca500 for 15k USD. If you are just doing learning stuff, it should be more than adequate.