The KHR-1 is a programmable, bipedal
humanoid robot
A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments and working alongside humans, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipeda ...
introduced in June 2004 by a Japanese company
Kondo Kagaku
KO PROPO is a brand of radio control equipment and humanoid robot ( KHR-1) by Kondo Kagaku, established in Tokyo, Japan in 1945.
In 1982 KO PROPO introduced the Expert EX-1, reported to have been the first to integrate a pistol grip
On a f ...
. At the time of its introduction it was one of the least expensive programmable
bipedal
Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an animal moves by means of its two rear (or lower) limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' ...
robots (prices averaging around $1,600 in the United States and ¥128,000 in Japan). The robot is 34 cm high and has 17 degrees of freedom (each joint is powered by individual
servomotor
A servomotor (or servo motor or simply servo) is a rotary or linear actuator that allows for precise control of angular or linear position, velocity, and acceleration in a mechanical system. It constitutes part of a servomechanism, and consi ...
). It is capable of a wide range of motions, including quick
kung-fu
Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to c ...
-style fighting moves.
The KHR-1 can be controlled via RF remote control and modified receiver; however, these units do not come with the robot and must be purchased separately. Other accessories/modifications include additional degrees of freedom (waist and leg motion), a high performance motion processor microcontroller capable of real-time master/slave operation, gyros and multi-axis accelerometers, larger foot/sole plates.
The basic robot, as supplied by Kondo, uses simple control application, named HearttoHeart that allows the user to create or capture a sequence of poses and control the transition speeds. The software also has provisions for creating a series of motions into a longer scenario.
Users of the KHR-1 have developed a number of more advanced control, programming and simulation applications making it possible to create and modify the robot's movements and scenarios on a personal computer.
The KHR-1 is the most commonly used robotic platform used for
ROBO-ONE Robo-One is a robot competition category of bipedal humanoid robots. The first ROBO-ONE contest was held in Japan on February 2, 2002, and consisted of an initial judged autonomous "Demonstration" stage, followed by one-on-one matches. In Japan, ROB ...
J class robots in Japan. In 2004 the robot won in the Robo-One Jr category (lightweight robots) in the
RoboGames
RoboGames (previously ROBOlympics) is an annual robot contest held in San Mateo, California. The last RoboGames was held April 6-9, 2023 in Pleasanton, California, having been on hiatus since the previous event in April 2018.
Competitions typica ...
(held in the United States).
The KHR series also includes the KHR-2HV and KHR-3HV robots.
References
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khr-1
Bipedal humanoid robots
Robots of Japan
2004 robots
Japanese inventions