Design of Actuators for a Humanoid Robot with Anthropomorphic Characteristics and Running Capability

In this paper, we present the details of the actuator design for our humanoid robot, Mithra. Mithra has been designed to match an average adult human in terms of kinematic and kinetic characteristics. This poses various challenges in actuator design that we have addressed in this work. First, we dis...

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Main Authors: Chathura Semasinghe, Drake Taylor, Siavash Rezazadeh
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Actuators
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/5/243
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author Chathura Semasinghe
Drake Taylor
Siavash Rezazadeh
author_facet Chathura Semasinghe
Drake Taylor
Siavash Rezazadeh
author_sort Chathura Semasinghe
collection DOAJ
description In this paper, we present the details of the actuator design for our humanoid robot, Mithra. Mithra has been designed to match an average adult human in terms of kinematic and kinetic characteristics. This poses various challenges in actuator design that we have addressed in this work. First, we discuss how the high-level design can help in achieving anthropomorphic traits. Next, the detailed design is verified and finalized using stress and fatigue analyses. Further, we conduct experiments to validate the actuator’s bandwidth and backdrivability, and discuss the outcomes in comparison with human characteristics. The results show that Mithra’s actuators have sufficient structural strength to withstand high running forces, and at the same time, provide human-like traits and capabilities to accommodate human-inspired control paradigms.
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spelling doaj-art-c1838435f9b04d5fa783a0b8a64310d72025-08-20T02:33:43ZengMDPI AGActuators2076-08252025-05-0114524310.3390/act14050243Design of Actuators for a Humanoid Robot with Anthropomorphic Characteristics and Running CapabilityChathura Semasinghe0Drake Taylor1Siavash Rezazadeh2Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Denver, 2155 East Wesley Avenue, Denver, CO 80210, USADepartment of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Denver, 2155 East Wesley Avenue, Denver, CO 80210, USADepartment of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, University of Denver, 2155 East Wesley Avenue, Denver, CO 80210, USAIn this paper, we present the details of the actuator design for our humanoid robot, Mithra. Mithra has been designed to match an average adult human in terms of kinematic and kinetic characteristics. This poses various challenges in actuator design that we have addressed in this work. First, we discuss how the high-level design can help in achieving anthropomorphic traits. Next, the detailed design is verified and finalized using stress and fatigue analyses. Further, we conduct experiments to validate the actuator’s bandwidth and backdrivability, and discuss the outcomes in comparison with human characteristics. The results show that Mithra’s actuators have sufficient structural strength to withstand high running forces, and at the same time, provide human-like traits and capabilities to accommodate human-inspired control paradigms.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/5/243humanoid robotsmulti-DoF actuator designfinite element analysisfatigue analysisbackdrivability
spellingShingle Chathura Semasinghe
Drake Taylor
Siavash Rezazadeh
Design of Actuators for a Humanoid Robot with Anthropomorphic Characteristics and Running Capability
Actuators
humanoid robots
multi-DoF actuator design
finite element analysis
fatigue analysis
backdrivability
title Design of Actuators for a Humanoid Robot with Anthropomorphic Characteristics and Running Capability
title_full Design of Actuators for a Humanoid Robot with Anthropomorphic Characteristics and Running Capability
title_fullStr Design of Actuators for a Humanoid Robot with Anthropomorphic Characteristics and Running Capability
title_full_unstemmed Design of Actuators for a Humanoid Robot with Anthropomorphic Characteristics and Running Capability
title_short Design of Actuators for a Humanoid Robot with Anthropomorphic Characteristics and Running Capability
title_sort design of actuators for a humanoid robot with anthropomorphic characteristics and running capability
topic humanoid robots
multi-DoF actuator design
finite element analysis
fatigue analysis
backdrivability
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/5/243
work_keys_str_mv AT chathurasemasinghe designofactuatorsforahumanoidrobotwithanthropomorphiccharacteristicsandrunningcapability
AT draketaylor designofactuatorsforahumanoidrobotwithanthropomorphiccharacteristicsandrunningcapability
AT siavashrezazadeh designofactuatorsforahumanoidrobotwithanthropomorphiccharacteristicsandrunningcapability