Hardware

Full Name:

Diego-san as it is born in Japan but installed in San Diego.
Creator:

University of California San Diego and Kokoro Corporation, Japan
Location:

La Jolla, California
Year:

2010
Goal:

Diego-san was designed to mimic 1-year-old human body structure and muscle dynamics, which is of very high degree of freedom and very compliant. Researchers make use of the robot to explore new control algorithms and potentially help understanding how human learn to control their bodies.
Features:

Diego can perform human facial expressions, such as smile,  angry and sad. Each pneumatic joint is driven by a pair of proportional valves that provide fine control of air dynamics and adjustable compliance.
Height:

130cm
Width:

70cm
Weight:

35KG
Speed:

Not Available
Sensors:
  • 2 DragonFly 2 Camera in the eyes
  • 2 Microphones and 1 speaker in the ears and the mouth
  • 38 potentiometers
  • 88 pressure sensors
Actuators:

38 pneumatic actuators for  body joints and 18 electric RC servos for the face.
Power:

Compressed Air from external compressor.
Computing:

The computer is a Intel Xeon 2.8Ghz 12core machine. The analog sensors and pneumatic actuators are connected to the computer using a National Instruments Data Acquisition System (DAQ).
Software:
  • Ubuntu Linux for Operating System
  • Robotic Operating System  (ROS) for basic sensor/actuator communication
  • Python/Matlab/C++ for control related computing
Degrees of Freedom:

44 independently controlled pneumatic joints (HeadNeck-4, Trunk-4, Each Arm-8, Each Hand-3 , Each Leg 7) and 18 electric servos for facial expression.
Structure and Materials:

Aluminum structure, Acrylic shell, and rubber face.
Cost:

N/A
Versions/History:

Not available