Over the last two years, [Mark] at the Harford (and Baltimore) Hackerspace has been building 401k, a humanoid robot that will soon be able to walk on two legs, detect objects, and fight along with its comrades in the robot insurrection that leads to the extinction of man.
To get an idea of how complicated a humanoid robot is, realize the Honda ASIMO has been an ongoing project for over a decade now and can be easily defeated by stairs. [Mark] doesn’t have the benefit of millions of dollars in funding or dozens of lab assistants – in one video, [Mark] shows us the foot pads made out of [George Foreman] grill lids and hip joints made out of DVD players. Even though he’s using “unconventional” parts, 401k still has a very advanced pair of legs that model their human analog very well.
Even though it’s still a work in progress, there’s an incredible amount of work and expertise that is going into this build. [Mark] is wants to take 401k to this year’s RoboGames next month. We hope he gets his build walking in time, even for a few baby steps.
You can check out more of the 401k build vlog on [Mark]’s YouTube channel.
I, for one, welcome our affordable DIY humanoid robot overlords.
Well I’m trying my part to make things a little more affordable.
http://www.shapeways.com/model/495464/anthromod-mk1-1-right-hand.html
I assume the name 401k comes from the fact that he hopes it is ready by retirement age?
After ready this hack I and viewed his video I got hooked on watching all the following robot videos. Like Titan, Honda’s Asimo and the rest.. Compared to them, 401K is a huge single person accomplishment.
The A.W.E.S.O.M.-O 4000 is my favorite humanoid robot.
But seriously, the 401k is respectable work. I wonder if it’s name comes from the money they spent on it that otherwise would have made it into their retirement accounts.
Bingo…
This work is seriously impressive. I love that the bot is built almost entirely of common household items.
Knee joints appear to be Sony HD Eyeball cameras.
http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/product-BRCZ700/
Article references incorrect YouTube Channel. Mark’s YouTube Channel is at http://www.youtube.com/user/mumark.
Moomooleo plans on taking *his* robot to RoboGames while Mark does not plan on taking 401k.
Moomooleo just got a whole bunch of traffic while Mark has probably gotten none. :-(
“Take me to your leader!”