Just ordered Manoi PF01

[wintermute offline]

Terrific photos, Peabo. Very interesting, and much appreciated. I'm going to go look at them again now.

[JavaRN offline]

Can I dare ask the price for this robot? What programming interface (language and motion editor) does it have?

[Peabo offline]

Can I dare ask the price for this robot? What programming interface (language and motion editor) does it have?

It seems to be $1899 whereever you look. Also, they only sell them for research purposes & to educational institutions, but I'm sure if you ask nicely, they will send you one anyway. It uses the same PCB as the Kondo KHRs so you'll be working with the Heart To Heart software. Very easy to use!

[wintermute offline]

Peabo, I just read your assemby tutorial, and it's great. Good job.

As for the $1899 price, that wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me. However, I sure wish the PF01 had hip-rotation. If it did, I'd order one today. Seems like 19 DOF ought to be the minimum these days, especially on such an expensive robot. Slide-turns just don't cut it, in my opinion. But I keep being drawn back to the PF01 for some reason. It''s such an appealing little critter. Thanks to Takahashi-san, it's exceptionally well-designed. Wonder if there's any way to hack hip-rotation on one?

[Peabo offline]

Peabo, I just read your assemby tutorial, and it's great. Good job.

As for the $1899 price, that wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me. However, I sure wish the PF01 had hip-rotation. If it did, I'd order one today. Seems like 19 DOF ought to be the minimum these days, especially on such an expensive robot. Slide-turns just don't cut it, in my opinion. But I keep being drawn back to the PF01 for some reason. It''s such an appealing little critter. Thanks to Takahashi-san, it's exceptionally well-designed. Wonder if there's any way to hack hip-rotation on one?

Hacking it would be really hard, it's not designed to be modified much. You'd have to recast your own special torso unit, I'd imagine.

Even though he has no hip-rotation, he moves really nicely and can do pretty much everything the AT can whilst looking a whole lot cooler in the process. I always thought the AT01 stood & walked like he was desperate to go to the toilet. I'll be sure to take some movies soon, he isn't slow like people would have you believe. Probably the only thing that's noticably slower is getting up from a lying position (since he's heavier), though there may be newer motion files that achieve this more efficiently.

[Peabo offline]

As you can see, there is no room for extra servos. The shelf just above the legs is where the batteries go:

[tempusmaster offline]

Peabo, I just read your assemby tutorial, and it's great. Good job.

As for the $1899 price, that wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me. However, I sure wish the PF01 had hip-rotation. If it did, I'd order one today. Seems like 19 DOF ought to be the minimum these days, especially on such an expensive robot. Slide-turns just don't cut it, in my opinion. But I keep being drawn back to the PF01 for some reason. It''s such an appealing little critter. Thanks to Takahashi-san, it's exceptionally well-designed. Wonder if there's any way to hack hip-rotation on one?

All things considered, the moves are about as good as it gets.

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Of course, the side-turns still leave a lot to be desired. I seriously doubt there is any way to hack hip rotation, or individual leg rotation (which I think may be what you meant), into the PF01.

[Peabo offline]

Peabo, I just read your assemby tutorial, and it's great. Good job.

As for the $1899 price, that wouldn't be a deal-breaker for me. However, I sure wish the PF01 had hip-rotation. If it did, I'd order one today. Seems like 19 DOF ought to be the minimum these days, especially on such an expensive robot. Slide-turns just don't cut it, in my opinion. But I keep being drawn back to the PF01 for some reason. It''s such an appealing little critter. Thanks to Takahashi-san, it's exceptionally well-designed. Wonder if there's any way to hack hip-rotation on one?

All things considered, the moves are about as good as it gets.

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Of course, the side-turns still leave a lot to be desired. I seriously doubt there is any way to hack hip rotation, or individual leg rotation (which I think may be what you meant), into the PF01.

Dear god...I want that motion data now!! hehe

That's another thing, I haven't found anywhere that has manoi PF01 motion data available for download. Anyone know any good sources?

[wintermute offline]

Of course, the side-turns still leave a lot to be desired. I seriously doubt there is any way to hack hip rotation, or individual leg rotation (which I think may be what you meant), into the PF01.

We need to settle on a standardized term to describe the concept. I vote for:

"legs-that-rotate-or-pivot-independently-at-the-hip-enabling-human-like-turns"

or LTROPIATHEHLT for short. Seems to me all humanoid robots should be LTROPIATHEHLT-capable.

But all seriousness aside, it would be a thorny engineering problem in the PF01, that's for sure.

[Peabo offline]

Of course, the side-turns still leave a lot to be desired. I seriously doubt there is any way to hack hip rotation, or individual leg rotation (which I think may be what you meant), into the PF01.

We need to settle on a standardized term to describe the concept. I vote for:

"legs-that-rotate-or-pivot-independently-at-the-hip-enabling-human-like-turns"

or LTROPIATHEHLT for short. Seems to me all humanoid robots should be LTROPIATHEHLT-capable.

But all seriousness aside, it would be a thorny engineering problem in the PF01, that's for sure.

I suppose it could be done, but it will be a nightmare. You could drill through the battery shelf to attach servos from below (you'd need a screwdriver that could do a 90 degree turn!), but the shelf comes in 2 halves. Half is on the back of the torso case, and the other half is on the front of the torso-case. Assuming the servos would be central, then half the screws to attach it would be on one side of the shelf, and the others on the other side. So once it's screwed in, you couldn't diassemble the torso again without removing the legs. You may also need to saw off the original plastic wall that the legs attached to in order to give the legs freedom to pivot.

You're probably better off waiting for the PF02

[wintermute offline]

You're probably better off waiting for the PF02

If Kyosho introduced a a PF02 I'd be first in line to buy it. Actually, I've been delaying since December, hoping for that very thing. In the meantime, I've been steadily adding to the Christmas bonus I received this year. Currently, I have almost enough saved to buy a PFO1. But surely a new generation is on the horizon?

I came so close to buying a 1HV back in January. In fact, I had limor's online form all filled out, ready to submit. But something made me stop short of clicking the submit button. I reflected on how I almost bought an iPhone when they were first introduced, and how waiting to buy one paid off. So I've been treading water, waiting for the next-gen robots to stride onto the scene (and not doing slide-turns).

I guess I should change my avatar in the meantime.

[Peabo offline]

There has been no word on a PF02 at all. For all we know, they may not even make one. Robonova 1 has been out for a long while as well, and there still is no Robonova 2.

I was personally waiting for Qrio, but that's a totally lost cause now Such a shame since Aibo already had excellent personality software. And now close to 3 years after its death, I'm sure it would be even more amazing. I'd love to see something like that in a bipedal robot.

[wintermute offline]

I was personally waiting for Qrio, but that's a totally lost cause now Such a shame since Aibo already had excellent personality software. And now close to 3 years after its death, I'm sure it would be even more amazing. I'd love to see something like that in a bipedal robot.

I have an Aibo ERS-110, and I wanted a Qrio also. It's a shame Sony killed the project. But Takahashi-san's designs -- Chroino, Neon, and FT -- seem almost as capable, lack of AI notwithstanding. Too bad Kyosho won't put those into production as next-gen offerings. I'd pony up three grand or so for one, no problem.

But getting back to the PF01, aside from the 17 DOF limitation, I feel it's more polished and well-conceived than any other kit being offered today. And hands down, it has more personality, in my opinion. It's like a feisty little toddler.

[Peabo offline]

Here is a video of him doing a few of the motions I downloaded. If anyone knows where to get some really good ones, please let me know!

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[Peabo offline]

I have an Aibo ERS-110, and I wanted a Qrio also. It's a shame Sony killed the project. But Takahasi-san's designs -- Chroino, Neon, and FT -- seem almost as capable, lack of AI notwithstanding. Too bad Kyosho won't put those into production as next-gen offerings. I'd pony up three grand or so for one, no problem.

I'll be getting an ERS-7 in the near future. You can never have too many robots

Also, Manoi PF01 is the commerical version of Chroino. So maybe if they make a PF02, it will be even closer to the original design. Chroino has chest rotation and a head which can look up & down.