neoDavid: A Humanoid Robot With Variable-Stiffness Actuation and Dexterous Manipulation Skills

Abstract

Dexterity and strength are essential for performing a variety of tasks in the unstructured environments of household services and craftsmanship. For these tasks, we have developed neoDavid, a robust humanoid robot with dexterous manipulation skills. neoDavid has joints with variable-stiffness actuators (VSAs), which have mechanically adjustable elasticity in the drive train, a continuum elastic neck, and a gravitationally compensated torso with overload couplings. We present our modular approach in the development, starting from system architecture over mechatronic components, communication, and control to higher-level software. We demonstrate how this modularity enables scalable enhancements, allowing us to evolve the system from a single arm and hand into a complete humanoid robot. Additionally, we highlight advancements in perception, manipulation, and motion planning, along with the implementation of offline task planning utilizing capability maps. The versatile character in terms of dexterity and robustness is demonstrated in challenging applications, e.g., handling a drill hammer, fine manipulation of a pipette, and emptying a dishwasher.