Four arms are better than two: humanoid robot for zero gravity
The humanoid robot Helios has four arms and no legs. In zero gravity, where it is supposed to work, it doesn't need them either.
The Helios robot hangs on straps in a test environment. Later, it is supposed to float freely in zero gravity and take over tasks from astronauts with its four arms.
(Image: Orbit Robotics/Screenshot)
The Canadian company Orbit Robotics, a focus project of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), has developed a four-armed humanoid robot named Helios for use in the zero gravity of a space station. The robot has no legs. It doesn't need them in zero gravity either. Instead, the engineers have bolted on an additional pair of arms with hands. This allows the robot to perform more tasks simultaneously.
Helios is not built like a conventional robot with rotating actuators. Instead, its four arms, attached to a humanoid torso, are moved by electric motors via belt-driven pulleys. This makes the entire structure lighter and more flexible. The motors are placed close to the shoulder joints to keep the moving mass low and increase efficiency. The elbow joint is designed as a roller contact joint to create low-friction, smooth movement. The joint is therefore powerful yet maintains a certain flexibility.
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With the Tendon Drive, the researchers mimic the muscular human musculoskeletal system. The joints, driven by ropes acting as tendons, thus exhibit more natural movement. Orbit Robotics states that this results in better mobility and dexterity for Helios in zero-gravity environments compared to conventionally driven joints via rotary actuators.
Built for Space
The hands of the Helios robot have five fingers to perform even more delicate tasks in space. Orbit Robotics does not disclose further information about the robot. So far, it is a prototype on which development work is to be carried out. A large part of the robot's load-bearing components come from the 3D printer.
The developers have not yet tested the Helios robot in zero gravity. So far, it has only been tested hanging on straps in a test environment that simulates a space station.
Orbit Robotics aims to develop and build robot systems that relieve astronauts in space and take over routine tasks for them. These include maintenance tasks as well as cargo and inventory management. Around 35 percent of the time on board a space station is currently spent on maintenance-related tasks. With the support of Helios, astronauts are expected to regain valuable time to spend on research tasks.
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In addition, Orbit Robotics has developed the Ikarus robotics platform. The platform, realized in just two months, serves as a test environment for training tasks that such a robot is intended to perform autonomously. The platform enables imitation learning, teleoperation of a robot, and testing of hardware improvements.
(olb)
