What stands 178 cm tall (5 ft, 10 in), weighs 85 kg (187 lb) and has five-fingered palms with 12 levels of freedom? That’s proper, it is the Kepler Forerunner humanoid robotic, and it is set to debut subsequent week at CES.
Manufactured by China’s Kepler Exploration Robot Company, the Forerunner is designed to be a direct competitor to Tesla’s Optimus robotic. That stated, it is a bit costlier. Whereas the newest worth estimate for the Optimus is lower than US$20,000, the Forerunner should go for about $30,000.
One of the robotic’s massive promoting options are the proprietary planetary curler screw actuators in its legs and arms. These ship as much as 8,000 Newtons (1,798 pound-force) of thrust to the elbow, knee and ankle joints.
According to Kepler, these actuators “surpass standard motors in delivering precision management, enhanced energy and fast responsiveness, adeptly dealing with advanced duties.” Custom rotary actuators transfer the waist and shoulder joints.
Kepler
The Forerunner perceives its environment by way of a gaggle of sensors positioned in its head. These units embrace a wide-angle binocular digicam, a far-field array of 4 microphones, an accelerometer and an AHRS (angle and heading reference system). It may also converse to folks by way of an artificial voice module and stereophonic audio system.
All of the sensory information is processed by way of Kepler’s proprietary Nebula AI system, reportedly permitting the robotic to navigate advanced environments and keep away from obstacles whereas strolling throughout uneven terrain. Its palms can each sense and gently grasp objects, plus additionally they permit the robotic to select up and carry heavy objects – a precise lifting/carrying capability hasn’t been offered at this level.
Kepler
According to Kepler, a number of variations of the Forerunner might be out there, geared toward purposes similar to manufacturing, inspection, high-risk duties, out of doors work, plus robotics analysis and training.
Production and transport ought to start within the third quarter of this yr. You can see the robotic in motion, in a video on the corporate web site linked beneath.
Source: Kepler