Building Robots with Endurance: The Story of Wanderer

🤖Wanderer, a full-size humanoid robot, is designed with greater endurance for disaster response and important work.

🔋The robot's lightweight design and optimization techniques enable it to walk longer distances on a single battery charge.

⚙️Wanderer features a four-bar transmission system that provides different gear ratios optimized for stance and swing.

🌡️Efficient cooling mechanisms, such as open stator housing and mini fans, help enhance motor performance and heat transfer.

🦵The robot exhibits spring-like behavior at the ankle and hip joints, reducing motor torque and saving energy.

What is the purpose of Wanderer?

—Wanderer is designed to have greater endurance for disaster response and other important work.

How has the weight of Wanderer been reduced?

—The robot's weight has been reduced by 20 pounds through lightweight design techniques and the use of materials like carbon fiber.

What is the significance of the four-bar transmission system in Wanderer?

—The four-bar transmission system provides optimized gear ratios for different walking phases, improving the robot's performance.

How does Wanderer achieve efficient cooling?

—Wanderer utilizes an open stator housing and mini fans to cool the motors, enhancing their performance and heat transfer.

How does Wanderer save energy?

—Wanderer exhibits spring-like behavior at the ankle and hip joints, reducing motor torque and saving energy during walking.

00:03The goal is to create technology that gives legged robots greater endurance and practicality for disaster response and important work.

01:24Wanderer is a second robot built after the Stepper robot, with improvements in weight reduction and joint layout.

02:26Wanderer features a four-bar transmission system optimized for stance and swing, improving its walking performance.

03:04Efficient cooling mechanisms, such as open stator housing and mini fans, enhance the performance and heat transfer of motors.

03:59Wanderer exhibits spring-like behavior at the ankle and hip joints, reducing motor torque and saving energy during walking.

06:26Wanderer made its public debut at the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals, walking almost 2 kilometers before its battery died.

06:46On the second day of the challenge, Wanderer walked more than four hours and covered 2.8 kilometers.

07:23Wanderer requires just over 400 watts of power to walk and can operate an entire eight-hour shift on a single battery charge.