Domo
Encyclopedia
Domo is an experimental robot by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) designed to interact with human
s. The brainchild of Jeff Weber and Aaron Edsinger, its name comes from the Japanese
phrase for "thank you very much", domo arigato, as well as the Styx
song, "Mr. Roboto
". The Domo project was originally funded by NASA
, and has now been joined by Toyota in funding robot's development.
The Cardea Robot Project was a research project led by Professor Rodney Brooks
in the Humanoid Robotics Group at MIT. The lab group worked to create a cable-drive brushless Series Elastic Actuator arm mounted to a Segway platform. Jeff Weber and Aaron Edsinger-Gonzales were a part of this research, specifically responsible for the design and implementation of the robotic arm. This collaboration allowed Edsinger-Gonzales and Weber to take some of the research and apply it to a new robot, Domo.
Edsinger and Weber collaborated on many other robots as well, and their experience working with the Kismet
page and Cog
projects influenced the design of Domo. Kismet was a robotic head developed by Cynthia Breazeal
for experimenting with social expressions and cues. Edsinger's role in the project was helping to develop the early stages of Kismet's eye detection module, which allowed Kismet to make eye contact while interacting. The Cog project was intended to explore the way that intelligence is formed through social interaction. The Cog robot was designed to emulate the human body's motor points and limbs and to accept input stimuli from these so that it could use its limbs in a human-like way. Edsinger's contribution to the Cog project was a Series Elastic Actuator arm and controllers for the body of the robot. Though the research direction of these robots is very different from the Domo Project, the design of the eye detection module and the Series Elastic Actuator arm are integrated into Domo's design.
Heads of previous robots, such as Cog, were impeded by the bundle of electrical cords that would run to the eye cameras and motors. Domo's design runs all the cables down through the neck so that they are tucked out of the way. This allows Domo a great deal of range and freedom in head articulation.
The head movement is facilitated by brushed direct current motors. Potentiometer
position sensors in the motor provide feedback as to the head's absolute position at startup, so Domo does not require a calibration routine before being able to function.
The main focus of the head design was for Domo to be able to emulate human eye movement. Human eye movements range from very quick and explosive movements to slow and accurate movements for following moving stimuli, so careful consideration was needed to design Domo's head and vision system.
These eyes are linked to a cognitive system that is a networked cluster of Linux machines. The YARP
software suite is utilized for the cognitive system to do visual processing.
Domo's arms have six DOF
, two at the shoulder and four in the arm and wrist. The joints are Series elastic actuators (SEA) driven by custom brushless DC motors. The DOF
s contain cable drive systems, with the drive cables hidden discreetly in the center of the joints to not impede movement. Series elastic actuators are used to provide force-sensing capabilities to the arms. The sensors embedded throughout the arms are linked up to the cognitive system.
Each hand consists of three fingers powered by four actuators. There is one actuator for each finger and the fourth is to control the spread between two of the fingers. The two fingers are spread using gears, while the third remains in place.
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s. The brainchild of Jeff Weber and Aaron Edsinger, its name comes from the Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
phrase for "thank you very much", domo arigato, as well as the Styx
Styx (band)
Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....
song, "Mr. Roboto
Mr. Roboto
"Mr. Roboto" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung and performed by the band Styx on their 1983 concept album Kilroy Was Here. In Canada, where they were always more popular than in their native U.S., it went to #1 on the RPM national singles chart, becoming their third single to top the charts in...
". The Domo project was originally funded by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, and has now been joined by Toyota in funding robot's development.
Origin
The home of the Domo Project is with the Humanoid Robotics Group (HRG) at MIT Artificial Intelligence (AI) Labs. Its existence is inspired by the robot projects that came before it.The Cardea Robot Project was a research project led by Professor Rodney Brooks
Rodney Brooks
Rodney Allen Brooks is the former Panasonic professor of robotics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since 1986 he has authored a series of highly influential papers which have inaugurated a fundamental shift in artificial intelligence research...
in the Humanoid Robotics Group at MIT. The lab group worked to create a cable-drive brushless Series Elastic Actuator arm mounted to a Segway platform. Jeff Weber and Aaron Edsinger-Gonzales were a part of this research, specifically responsible for the design and implementation of the robotic arm. This collaboration allowed Edsinger-Gonzales and Weber to take some of the research and apply it to a new robot, Domo.
Edsinger and Weber collaborated on many other robots as well, and their experience working with the Kismet
Kismet (robot)
Kismet is a robot made in the late 1990s at Massachusetts Institute of Technology by Dr. Cynthia Breazeal. The robot's auditory, visual and expressive systems were intended to allow it to participate in human social interaction and to demonstrate simulated human emotion and appearance...
page and Cog
Cog (project)
Cog was a project at the Humanoid Robotics Group of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was based on the hypothesis that human-level intelligence requires gaining experience from interacting with humans, like human infants do. This in turn requires many interactions with humans over a...
projects influenced the design of Domo. Kismet was a robotic head developed by Cynthia Breazeal
Cynthia Breazeal
Cynthia Lynn Breazeal is an Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she is the director of the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Laboratory...
for experimenting with social expressions and cues. Edsinger's role in the project was helping to develop the early stages of Kismet's eye detection module, which allowed Kismet to make eye contact while interacting. The Cog project was intended to explore the way that intelligence is formed through social interaction. The Cog robot was designed to emulate the human body's motor points and limbs and to accept input stimuli from these so that it could use its limbs in a human-like way. Edsinger's contribution to the Cog project was a Series Elastic Actuator arm and controllers for the body of the robot. Though the research direction of these robots is very different from the Domo Project, the design of the eye detection module and the Series Elastic Actuator arm are integrated into Domo's design.
Design
Domo was created in order to research manipulation and interaction with stimuli and machine learning of sensorimotor skills. To accomplish this, the design was required to have particular consideration as to how the robot would be able to interact with unfamiliar stimuli. The research also required Domo to be able to perceive and act upon its surroundings. Satisfying these concerns meant that Domo needed to be able to function without a complete model of the world, rather, it was equipped with the ability to build a model for itself.Head
Domo's robotic head consists of seven degrees of freedom (DOF) for the upper head which is attached to a neck with two DOF. There are two eyes, each with a single wide-angle camera. The cameras are capable of video capture at either 640×480 at 30 frames per second (frame/s) or 1024×768 at 15 frame/s. The two cameras tilt along the same DOF, but have individual DOF to allow for independent panning. A set of eyelids is included to use for expressions.Heads of previous robots, such as Cog, were impeded by the bundle of electrical cords that would run to the eye cameras and motors. Domo's design runs all the cables down through the neck so that they are tucked out of the way. This allows Domo a great deal of range and freedom in head articulation.
The head movement is facilitated by brushed direct current motors. Potentiometer
Potentiometer
A potentiometer , informally, a pot, is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used , it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume controls on...
position sensors in the motor provide feedback as to the head's absolute position at startup, so Domo does not require a calibration routine before being able to function.
The main focus of the head design was for Domo to be able to emulate human eye movement. Human eye movements range from very quick and explosive movements to slow and accurate movements for following moving stimuli, so careful consideration was needed to design Domo's head and vision system.
These eyes are linked to a cognitive system that is a networked cluster of Linux machines. The YARP
YARP
YARP is an open-source software package, written in C++ for interconnecting sensors, processors, and actuators in robots....
software suite is utilized for the cognitive system to do visual processing.
Arms
Rather than designing Domo's arms for absolute precision, Edsinger and Weber designed the arms to work more closely to that of a human. Human arms are adept at sensing and controlling the forces at every joint, giving up precision in position for compliance. Translating this to a humanoid robot required the design to include some tolerance and compliance at every joint while also being able to keep track of and output torque.Domo's arms have six DOF
Degrees of freedom
Degrees of freedom can mean:* Degrees of freedom , independent displacements and/or rotations that specify the orientation of the body or system...
, two at the shoulder and four in the arm and wrist. The joints are Series elastic actuators (SEA) driven by custom brushless DC motors. The DOF
Degrees of freedom
Degrees of freedom can mean:* Degrees of freedom , independent displacements and/or rotations that specify the orientation of the body or system...
s contain cable drive systems, with the drive cables hidden discreetly in the center of the joints to not impede movement. Series elastic actuators are used to provide force-sensing capabilities to the arms. The sensors embedded throughout the arms are linked up to the cognitive system.
Hands
The design of a humanoid hand is required to incorporate some way to measure and output force. A few older designs had force sensors in the fingertips. While this would work in a known environment, it does not provide enough feedback to work in a novel and unknown environment. The controllers in Domo's hands are able to sense forces at the individual joints. This allows the hands to execute a grasp of an object even without a model of the object's size, shape or material.Each hand consists of three fingers powered by four actuators. There is one actuator for each finger and the fourth is to control the spread between two of the fingers. The two fingers are spread using gears, while the third remains in place.