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| A Honda Humanoid Robot |
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| The Project: A Prototype of the Humanoid Biomimetics Project. |
THE PROJECT
A 400l student of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) has built
an amazing humanoid Robot using locally-sourced materials. The student, Ukah
Okechukwu, an Electrical/Electronics Student is said to be naturally talented
and started building electronic devices from his primary school. Here is the
Robot which replicated an existing industrial robot by the right. The Economist
(TE) thinks such efforts should be encouraged in our Ivory Towers for maximum
productivity. Only productivity drives economic growth and development in real
terms. Kudos to Mr. Okechukwu.
The Student wrote this on the project:
HUMANOID ROBOT: AN APPLICATION OF BIOMIMETICS
INTRODUCTION
The ingenuity of man has enabled him to harness the
potentials of nature to an incredible degree. This resulted in him bringing the
functional systems of his environment under his control. He accomplishes this
in the different fields of Engineering where he scientifically analyses
different natural phenomena and intuitively applies the principles in solving
his day to day problems.
THE URGE
Following the same line of thought, I felt the urge to come
up with this my masterpiece. However, as an undergraduate, my aim is not to
present a professionally designed machine but to share with friends the joy of
practical engineering. My childhood dream of innovating technology will
hopefully prove realistic as the Almighty God (the source of absolute wisdom)
gradually removes the scales from my eyes.
FEATURES OF THE PROJECT
Light detecting systems, alarm system, mobility system,
touch sensors and automatic direction finding mechanisms.
WORKING PRINCIPLES
The light
detecting system consists of an arrangement of lenses, optic sensors and
sensing circuit to replicate the human vision system. The switching mechanism
has an array of interconnected relays which I classified as the master and
slaves (copying the human endocrine system). The master relay receives signal
directly from the sensing circuit, it then activates the appropriate slave
relay for an action to be taken. Subsequently, the slave relay holds the signal
and sends a command signal to the mechanism that will carry out the action.
When the action has been taken, the mechanism sends a feedback signal to the
slave relay, and then the relay withdraws the signal and waits for another
cycle of operation. For instance, when it moves about, it can detect an
obstacle within 150cm away and steer clear from it. This happens as follows:
Within this range, the image of the object is formed
(focused) on the optic sensors (retina). This brings about change in light
intensity on the solar cells hence an electrical signal is generated. The
sensing circuit detects this signal and activates the master relay. In turn,
the relay sends a triggering signal to the slave relay responsible for steering
operation. The slave relay in turn activates the motor that drives the steering
mechanism. By virtue of the relay’s ability to retain the signal (memory), the
motor continuously steers the wheel until it dodges the obstacle; then it sends
a feedback signal to the relay. Consequently, the relay withdraws the signal
and normal motion is restored. The other systems employ the same principle.
Meanwhile, ideas are being incubated and plans underway to
upgrade the capabilities by incorporating more circuits (transceivers) and
mechanisms for more smartness and usefulness.
INDUSTRY APPLICATION
When fully developed and upgraded and equipped with modern
electronic devices, this machine can prove useful in manufacturing industries
for routine inspection task and more especially in entertainment industries
where it can be used to relay human speeches and thereby simulate human-machine
direct interaction.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR ABILITIES
Technology, what can we do without it; Help develop it….
Okechukwu U. Joseph
E-mail:
ukah_joseph@yahoo.com
07038786197