The Poppy Show?

Hello guys,

I am in a scientific club and we are planning to build our own version of Poppy!
We want to use it then for presentations, among other things, so I want to know if it is possible to have Poppy walk, holding a microphone and deliver a pre-registered speech on a scene to an audience.
Is Poppy a pertinent choice of platform for this project?

Any comment is welcome :smile:

1 Like

HI
I guess Poppy hand is being developed to do gripping… I am not sure whether the development is complete.

Regards,
NicoX

Thanks for the answer,
I am not worried much about holding the microphone, we can even fix it on the hand with glue or something.
The main issue is the walking around part! is Poppy the right robot for this job?

Poppy is more a R&D/creative platform, so it is suitable if you want to create or develop new applications.

Here, it seems you just want a robot you will use as it is. In this case, robots such as Nao are a more suitable choice.

Thanks,
And we want a robot that we can build ourselves, not just buy as is, can we do that with NAO?

NAO is not an Open source Robot, you only can buy a fully operational robot.

Thanks for the reply :slight_smile:
I am really convinced Poppy is the best platform for my purpose, the last thing I need to know is:
Will he be able to walk on his own? Even if it is on a pre-registered sequence?

Currently not really … When will you begin your project ?

Already started studying it, then as soon as we get the materials :smiley: still gotta pick the right 3D printer
(thus this post Which desktop printer is best to print Poppy?)
and then we will start as soon as possible, so I think in about a month to get the stuff delivered.
so got a bunch of questions:
1 - We aim to get it working by February, do you think that it is achievable for engineering students with relatively small experience building this kind of robots?
2 - Is the walking part depending on software/control? so we could build the current version of the hardware while there might be improvement to the software enabling it to walk.
3 - Do you plan a hardware update soon? we could delay to time our start with its release?

sorry for that many questions ^_^" thanks again

1- Build the robot yes, use the robot yes but make it walk is more tricky :slight_smile:
2- Walking is depending on many aspects, but of course control is a major part and can be easily updated.
3- Yes I think you should wait a bit to have the very last version (1 month)

For the moment, you can begin to test with the simulator:

Great thanks a lot!
On the last version will the components list also change? ( I believe its this one? https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Avq9MlqcWxlNdGpjY1RwbDMtSDJJSlVpM1VhRkVLVUE&usp=sharing#gid=1 )
I wonder if we should place orders while we wait for the update (shipping to Algeria, where we’ll be building it, can take quite some time…)
Thanks again

Yes components will change, while Robotis are the most expensive ones, I can give you a preview of the next BOM:

Motors

  • 17 x MX-28T
  • 4 x MX-64T
  • 2 x AX-18

Parts

  • 17x HN07-N101 set
  • 4x HN05-N101 Set
  • 10x HN07-i101 Set
  • 4x HN05-i101 Set
1 Like

@Ihsane The global project you have is indeed one way you could use (and extend) the Poppy humanoid. Especially it opens many possibilities for experimenting gestures with the torso, and combination with text to speech systems.
I am not sure walking is needed for such an application, it could still be cool without it.

Yet, if you would really like to have Poppy move around, I see two possibilities, each implying you fork the current hardware and design alternatives to the current legs (which were made to explore dynamic walking, which is an interesting but difficult domain):

  • Replace legs by a base on wheels (probably the easiest)
  • Design legs like those of Nao, which have a geometry such that open-loop controllers can be programmed to make it walk (but it will look like Nao’s walk, not like humans). Jimmy the open-source robot uses such legs. As it is open-source, it means you should be able to download the 3D plan and adapt them for your Poppy humanoid fork (http://www.21stcenturyrobot.com ).

Thank you for this answer :smiley:
to make it clear, we want to work on a robotics project at our scientific club to learn and advance on robotics, and the presentation part is aimed to do a communication coup for us, and our sponsors who make it possible for us to build Poppy (i.e. during a conference, we wanna have Poppy give a pre-recorded presentation about robotics, the project and ultimately calling for support to our club, hopefully leading to new sponsorship :smiley: )
This is why the walking part is important as a whole, in addition to the fact that its a very active and interesting research field.
What I am wondering is, even though Poppy at this time cannot walk with its current control system, and lack of feedback sensors I suppose? Would it be possible if we manage to figure out a set of commands to make him walk a few step without falling, to record the commands and repeat them in the same environment? it is a good idea?
PS: I also like the idea about Nao’s wheels, and will probably try it if what I just suggested above is not possible
Thank you again

@lhsane To give you an idea, here is the current state of having Poppy walk with its current legs, but more traditional feet and pressure sensors under the feet:

@Steve developed the controller and can provide additional details.

1 Like

Thank you :smiley: !