INTEGRATED APPLICATION OF CAD/CAM/CAE AND RP FOR RAPID

DEVELOPMENT OF A HUMANOID BIPED ROBOT

Seminar By
Nikam Amit Arun.

This work concerns the hardware development of a mid-size humanoid robot, focusing
on the use of an integrated application of CAD/CAM/CAE and rapid prototyping (RP) for the
rapid development of the robot’s outer body parts. Most parts were three-dimensionally designed
with 3D CAD, which enables effective connection with CAE analyses, the basis of which lays in
kinematic simulation and structural analysis. To reduce the lead time and investment cost of
developing parts, RP and CAM are selectively used to manufacture master parts for the body.
These master parts are then replicated by using a vacuum casting process, from which we can
repeatedly obtain plastic parts. Through this integrated approach, we can develop a prototype of
humanoid biped robot with a relatively low time and investment cost.
Robots are traditionally used in industrial automation. Recently, however, there has been
a shift in the usage of robots, from industrial automation to human-friendly systems. In recent
years, many robotics researchers have focused on developing human-friendly robots, that is,
humanoid biped robots. Some well-known human-scale robots include the WABIAN series of
Waseda University; ASIMO, the Honda humanoid robot; H6 and H7 of Tokyo University;
JOHNNIE of the Technical University of Munich; HRP of the METI Project; HUBO of the
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. To reduce the development costs, Sony
developed the SDR series of compact humanoid robots for entertainment. The latest version of
the SDR series, QRIO, is just 6.5 kg, whereas most human-sized robots weigh more than 50 kg.
The research on humanoid biped robots includes various areas such as hardware development,
control of biped locomotion, artificial intelligence, and human interaction. Here primary concern
is to develop the hardware of a mid-size humanoid robot. This focused on the rapid development
of the robot’s outer body parts by applying CAD/CAM/CAE and RP in an integrated manner.
Used in various industrial fields, RP facilitates the evaluation of geometry, as well as check on
manufacturability and other functional testing. Because RP is based on the 3D CAD model, it
can be effectively combined with the concept of concurrent engineering. To realize a human-like
shape, 3D arbitrary surface modeling to design most of the robot’s parts used, then effectively
converted the 3D CAD data to information that was suitable for CAE analyses. By using the
structural CAE analysis determined the design parameters that would ensure mechanical safety
under given load conditions. Kinematic simulation on various movements of the humanoid robot
also conducted in order to estimate the required torque at each joint. Furthermore, to reduce the
lead time and investment cost of developing parts, selectively used RP and CAM to efficiently
manufacture the body parts. By rapid tooling in a vacuum molding process able to replicate a
master part that enables us to repeatedly produce plastic parts.

Seminar Guide
Dr. L.N.Wankhade.