• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Subscribe
  • Your Membership
    • Edit Your Profile
  • Services
    • Advertising
    • Case studies
    • Design
    • Email marketing
    • Lead generation
    • Magazine
    • Press releases
    • Publishing
    • Sponsored posts
    • Webcasting
    • Webinars
    • White papers
    • Writing
  • Shop
    • My Account
    • Cart
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy
    • Terms of use
  • Events

Robotics & Automation News

Market trends and business perspectives

  • News
  • Features
  • Video
  • Webinars
  • White papers
  • Press releases
  • Featured companies
    • AMD Xilinx
    • BlueBotics
    • Elite Robot
    • RGo Robotics
    • SICK Sensor Intelligence
    • Vicor Power

UCLA claims its humanoid robot footballer is ‘better than Messi’

March 14, 2023 by Mark Allinson Leave a Comment

Mechanical engineers at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering have developed a full-sized humanoid robot with “first-of-its-kind technology”.

Named Artemis, for Advanced Robotic Technology for Enhanced Mobility and Improved Stability, the robot is scheduled to travel in July to Bordeaux, France, where it will take part in the soccer competition of the 2023 RoboCup, an international scientific meeting where robots demonstrate capabilities across a range of categories.

The robot was designed by researchers at the Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory at UCLA, or RoMeLa, as a general-purpose humanoid robot, with a particular focus on bipedal locomotion over uneven terrain.

Standing 4 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 85 pounds, it’s capable of walking on rough and unstable surfaces, as well as running and jumping. Artemis is able to remain steady even when strongly shoved or otherwise disturbed.

During tests in the lab, Artemis has been clocked walking 2.1 meters per second, which would make it the world’s fastest walking humanoid robot, according to the UCLA researchers.

It is also believed to be the first humanoid robot designed in an academic setting that is capable of running, and only the third overall.

The robot’s major innovation is that its actuators – devices that generate motion from energy – were custom-designed to behave like biological muscles. They’re springy and force-controlled, as opposed to the rigid, position-controlled actuators that most robots have.

“That is the key behind its excellent balance while walking on uneven terrain and its ability to run – getting both feet off the ground while in motion,” says Dennis Hong, a UCLA professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the director of RoMeLa. “This is a first-of-its-kind robot.”

Another major advance is that Artemis’ actuators are electrically driven, rather than controlled by hydraulics, which uses differences in fluid pressure to drive movement.

As a result, it makes less noise and operates more efficiently than robots with hydraulic actuators – and it’s cleaner, because hydraulic systems are notorious for leaking fluids.

Artemis’ ability to respond and adapt to what it senses comes from its system of sensors and actuators. It has custom-designed force sensors on each foot, which help the machine keep its balance as it moves. It also has an orientation unit and cameras in its head to help it perceive its surroundings.

To prepare Artemis for RoboCup, student researchers have been testing the robot on regular walks around the UCLA campus. In the coming weeks, they will fully test the robot’s running and soccer-playing skills at the UCLA Intramural Field.

Researchers also will evaluate how well it can traverse uneven terrain and stairs, its capacity for falling and getting back up, and its ability to carry objects.

RoMeLa’s Twitter account is regularly sharing information about the robot’s testing results and posting the routes for its campus walks, giving Bruins the chance to catch Artemis in action and chat with researchers.

“We’re very excited to take Artemis out for field testing here at UCLA and we see this as an opportunity to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics to a much wider audience,” Hong says.

Taoyuanmin Zhu and Min Sung Ahn, both of whom recently earned doctorates in mechanical engineering at UCLA, developed Artemis’ hardware and software systems, respectively.

RoMeLa, which has been making humanoid robots for more than two decades, has had earlier robots win the RoboCup competition five times already; the engineers are hoping Artemis brings home trophy number six.

Artemis’ development was funded in part by 232 donors who contributed more than $118,000 through a UCLA Spark crowdfunding campaign. Additional support came from an Office of Naval Research grant.

Artemis fun facts

  • Named in honor of the Greek goddess of the hunt, wild animals, chastity and childbirth, RoMeLa members refer to Artemis as “she”.
  • RoMeLa researchers have joked that Artemis could also stand for “A Robot That Exceeds Messi In Soccer”.
  • DARwIn-OP (Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence-Open Platform), 2010. One of the most widely used miniature humanoid robots for research and education. It is fully open-source, so anyone can build and use its technology for free.
  • Charli (Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence), 2011. The first full-sized humanoid robot in the US.
  • Thor (Tactical Humanoid Operations Robot), 2013. A humanoid robot for disaster relief applications; a revamped version, Thor-Rapid Deployment, competed in the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals.
  • Saffir (Shipboard Autonomous Fire Fighting Robot), 2014. A firefighting humanoid robot that has been tested on Navy vessels.
  • Bruce (Bipedal Robot Unit with Compliance Enhanced), 2022. A next-generation open-platform humanoid robot for research and education that utilizes proprioceptive actuators.

The UCLA Samueli School of Engineering is a tightly knit community of nearly 200 full-time faculty members, more than 6,500 undergraduate and graduate students, as well as 40,000 active alumni.

Known as the birthplace of the internet, UCLA Samueli is also where countless other fields took some of their first steps – from artificial intelligence to reverse osmosis, from mobile communications to human prosthetics.

In 2021, UCLA became the first university to win an XPrize with a UCLA Samueli team awarded a $7.5 million grand prize in the NRG Cosia Carbon XPrize.

UCLA Samueli is consistently ranked in the Top 10 among US public engineering schools and its online master’s program is ranked Nº1 by US News & World Report.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Skype
  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram
  • Pocket

You might also like…

Filed Under: Features, Science Tagged With: actuators, artemis, engineering, humanoid, researchers, robot, robots, romela, ucla

Join the Robotics & Automation News community

Reader Interactions

You must log in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Latest articles

  • Otto Motors launches new ‘mid-sized’ autonomous mobile robot
  • SGS introduces ‘cutting-edge testing protocol’ for robots checking furniture drawer slides
  • Europalco buys two robots from Kuka to add ‘wow factor’ to shows
  • Kivnon to launch new version of its forklift AGV at Advanced Factories Expo
  • Comau developing new mobile robot solution for three EU projects
  • What is the cost of hiring a Vue.JS developer?
  • Palletizing Systems and Robots
  • DONCEN MOTOR: Flat BLDC Motor is the Future Trend of the Robot
  • Top Benefits of Using Automation in Your Business
  • The Future of Colocation Hosting and How it is Evolving to Meet Changing Business Needs

Most Read

  • Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
    Top 20 electric vehicle charging station companies
  • Difference Between Three-Phase and Single-Phase Power
    Difference Between Three-Phase and Single-Phase Power
  • Hengbot unveils ‘world’s first robotic dog with musculoskeletal limbs’
    Hengbot unveils ‘world’s first robotic dog with musculoskeletal limbs’
  • Scientists have found more water in space than they ever knew possible
    Scientists have found more water in space than they ever knew possible
  • Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
    Top 20 programmable logic controller manufacturers
  • What You Need to Know About Fixing an Engine Misfire
    What You Need to Know About Fixing an Engine Misfire
  • Stiga launches ‘world’s smartest’ autonomous lawn mower
    Stiga launches ‘world’s smartest’ autonomous lawn mower
  • Why is Money Important in Our Lives?
    Why is Money Important in Our Lives?
  • How to Know if Your iPhone is Being Tracked? Check This!
    How to Know if Your iPhone is Being Tracked? Check This!
  • Why is My Car Key Stuck in the Ignition?
    Why is My Car Key Stuck in the Ignition?

Overused words

ai applications automated automation automotive autonomous business companies company control customers data design development digital electric global industrial industry logistics machine manufacturing market mobile operations platform process production robot robotic robotics robots safety software solution solutions system systems technologies technology time vehicle vehicles warehouse work

Secondary Sidebar

Latest news

  • Otto Motors launches new ‘mid-sized’ autonomous mobile robot
  • SGS introduces ‘cutting-edge testing protocol’ for robots checking furniture drawer slides
  • Europalco buys two robots from Kuka to add ‘wow factor’ to shows
  • Kivnon to launch new version of its forklift AGV at Advanced Factories Expo
  • Comau developing new mobile robot solution for three EU projects
  • What is the cost of hiring a Vue.JS developer?
  • Palletizing Systems and Robots
  • DONCEN MOTOR: Flat BLDC Motor is the Future Trend of the Robot
  • Top Benefits of Using Automation in Your Business
  • The Future of Colocation Hosting and How it is Evolving to Meet Changing Business Needs

Footer

We are…

Robotics and Automation News was established in May, 2015, and is now one of the most widely-read websites in its category.

Please consider supporting us by becoming a paying subscriber, or through advertising and sponsorships, or by purchasing products and services through our shop – or a combination of all of the above.

Thank you.

Independent

Archivists

March 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Feb    

Complex

Old-skool

This website and its associated magazine, and weekly newsletter, are all produced by a small team of experienced journalists and media professionals.

If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to contact us at any of the email addresses on our contact page.

We’d be happy to hear from you, and will always reply as soon as possible.

Future-facing

Free, fair and legal

We support the principles of net neutrality and equal opportunities.

Member of The Internet Defense League

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT