In designing and building complex biologically inspired robots we discovered how slow and expensive it is to uniquely engineer every powered joint. 3 axis joints are needed for hips, shoulders, wrists, and necks and were the most bother. It was found that there were no existing designs that met a smell test of elegance, low cost and high strength.
From kinematic and structural first principles we developed a modular language of robot joint mechanisms sufficient to cover a vast range of overall robot configurations. The approach amounts to a dynamic tri-tetrahedral language with a Bucky Fuller flavor.
There are three sizes of 3 axis joint in use for the ProtoAndoid; full scale, 3/4, and half scale. The largest holds a three inch pneumatic cylinder capable of kicking a ton at eyeblink speeds. The joint can be used "left" or "right handed" by inverting it.
You can take a look at a detail of the drafted design if you are really interested.
The ProtoAndroid Carcass uses a full scale T3 for its waist, three quarter scale T3s for shoulders and hips and half scale T3s for wrists and neck.
TheProtoAndroid Kinematics strategy is based in large part on the advantages and shortcomings of the T3 joint.
The Computers, Robotics, and Artists Society of Houston (CRASH) is building a complete Virtual ProtoAndroid for use in simulation and as a cyberspace avatar.
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