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A Useful, Non-Humanoid Robot: Just a Pair of Arms and Legs

Fraunhofer's evoBOT "lowers the inhibition threshold"

By Rain Noe - September 13, 2023

in Tech

The last time we looked at Germany company Fraunhofer's robots, they'd developed some fun Roomba-like cargo bots that unload cargo by intentionally crashing into platforms.

More recently they've developed this form-follows-function evoBOT for carrying cargo. As a refreshing alternative from those trending humanoid robots, the evoBOT is just a pair of legs and a pair of arms, no torso, no head. And when not in use, the arms fold down inside the legs.

"The evoBOT is a dynamically stable system based on the principle of an inverse pendulum (without external counterweight). The system is particularly space-saving and lightweight. Unlike conventional robots, evoBOT keeps itself permanently balanced, which enables movement on different and uneven surfaces, even with slopes."

The way that it picks things up is fun to watch:

The company envisions the evoBOT assisting with goods-handling in both a commercial and domestic context:

Unlike the recent rash of humanoid robot developers, the company reckons evoBOT's non-anthropomorphic shape will lead to greater acceptance among humans. "Another special feature of the robot is its appearance, which lowers the inhibition threshold for interaction between humans and robots. This means that the evoBOT® can not only be used as a transport robot, but can also be used collaboratively as an assistance for humans."

Here's a demo of the evoBOT's capabilities:

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Michael DiTullo

a year ago

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Really interesting. Instead of making a SciFi humanoid it seems like they really focused in on what was needed to get the job done and that lead to an innovative new archetype.

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  Michael DiTullo
  
  a year ago
  
  Z
  
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  Reminds me of the TARS & CASE robots form Interstellar, funny enough the early concepts look like the evoBOT. Check out Christopher Nolan speak to the inspiration of the design here https://youtu.be/yuueE3mGQiU?t=82
  
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Ryan Cee

a year ago

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That is a truly innovative design. This is someone looking at a process, examining what is necessary for the functionality of the process, and applying existing principles to reduce the solving of the process to the smallest form possible. You don't need fully developed shoulder, arm, and hand forms to simply grip and lift a package, so that's left out. You don't need to replicate bipedal leg action when you just need to move from point A to point B across a primarily flat surface, especially since standardized palletization means most warehouses are built across level surfaces, so instead they just used balancing wheels, a system already matured by the development of the Segway and imitators. I could also imagine the system expanded upon, wherein pairs of units could pick up larger items that would be difficult to balance, maybe even have the units linked and if a single unit finds itself unstable, the closest additional unit could stop its current goal process and assist.

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