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Author Topic: Humanoid Robots - Overpriced or Expensive?  (Read 3486 times)

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Offline LXETopic starter

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Humanoid Robots - Overpriced or Expensive?
« on: October 19, 2010, 05:02:05 AM »
I have to say, that when I go through shops which sell humanoid robot kits, They all are very expensive.

And along comes the I-sobot, costing us around $200 something, which is a fair price, if you want to hack the awsome robot that is but the I-sobot has been pulled off the market (to be replaced with the upcoming new version). We have Gestream selling the next smallest robot with 1.5kg torque in each of it's micro servos, at 15 degrees of freedom, the Berobot which is available from here

http://www.robotshop.com/berobot-professional-humanoid-development-platform-15-servos-4.html

But the cost is $710 + shipping? An amateur like me would say "No way I'm not paying that much!"

I also noticed that the two smallest humanoid robots currently in existence use Microservos, so hypothetically we can also use Micro servos as well to design and build our own miniature humanoid robots.

If you think about it, it is actually cheaper. Depends on opinion.

Microcontroller - You can use the one you already have. The Arduino is fine.
Servo controller - One that controls at least 14 servos will do, like the "Pololu Mini maestro 18 servo" at $37.95
Servos - HXT-900's are the best budget microservos available at $2.69 each from Hobbycity, 8 of them is the bare minimum for a humanoid
Brackets and Hinges - Find a good parts fabrication service and I think it'll cost around $100 or more, I could be wrong. If you can make your own It will cost much less.

So the total would just initially add up to around $100 to just over $300, plus since you designed and built it yourself, you can easily expand it in the future.

Let me know if this sounds appealling to you.

Offline Ro-Bot-X

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Re: Humanoid Robots - Overpriced or Expensive?
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2010, 05:40:11 AM »
The HXT900 servos are cheap for a reason. They are not very precise. They vibrate a lot if pressure is applied and most of them don't go full 180 even when you tell them to, and they have the mechanical possibility to do so. I think the electronics inside are not good enough. For arm movement did not bother me much, but for sensor scanning I was not pleased. Take a look at my robot's video putting off a candle and see the head vibrate (because of the weight applying pressure).

I bought several small servos from HobbyCity and there is one that was very precise, did not vibrate and scanned perfectly with one degree precision.

But here is a nice servo that looks perfect for robotics. From the comments I understand it has a center hole opposite to the spline that makes mounting rotating brackets easier, also the mounting holes are perfect for fixed brackets. I hope it performs good to build a biped. I did not try it yet. I should get some and hook them up to my Axon.
« Last Edit: October 19, 2010, 05:42:15 AM by Ro-Bot-X »
Check out the uBotino robot controller!

Offline LXETopic starter

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Re: Humanoid Robots - Overpriced or Expensive?
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2010, 06:39:40 AM »
The HXT900 servos are cheap for a reason. They are not very precise. They vibrate a lot if pressure is applied and most of them don't go full 180 even when you tell them to, and they have the mechanical possibility to do so. I think the electronics inside are not good enough.

Then what about these?

http://www.unitedhobbies.com/UNITEDHOBBIES/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=10344
http://www.unitedhobbies.com/UNITEDHOBBIES/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=5456
http://www.unitedhobbies.com/UNITEDHOBBIES/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7474
http://www.unitedhobbies.com/UNITEDHOBBIES/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9549
« Last Edit: October 19, 2010, 06:43:38 AM by LXE »

Offline Ro-Bot-X

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Re: Humanoid Robots - Overpriced or Expensive?
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2010, 04:02:47 PM »
First one, they are fairly new, but the reviews are great.
Second, a HXT900 clone. It might perform slightly under the HXT900.
Third, smaller, less torque, not so good reviews.
Fourth, yeah, at that price I would give it a try, especially since they say it travels a few degrees more than the HXT900. The torque is about the same, I will get a few for sensor panning and light use.

So I would order the first or the last, not the other ones.
Check out the uBotino robot controller!

Offline Razor Concepts

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Re: Humanoid Robots - Overpriced or Expensive?
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2010, 05:41:11 PM »
Last one is an inferior version of the hxt900

Offline Ro-Bot-X

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Re: Humanoid Robots - Overpriced or Expensive?
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2010, 09:15:16 PM »
Last one is an inferior version of the hxt900

Yes, but it is cheaper, so I can consider it for light stuff like sensor panning.
Check out the uBotino robot controller!

Offline LXETopic starter

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Re: Humanoid Robots - Overpriced or Expensive?
« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2010, 02:22:57 AM »
The Turnigy 1800A can also come in a 3 pack at $8.99 per pack. Instead of 97g per three servos, you get it at 75g.
Which means you'll save money on the servos and the shipping.

 


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