Capoeira Robots
I wanted to add a twist to
robotic theatre genre of art. I decided to do a martial arts
performance using two automated robots interacting with each
other. The type of robot I will be using is called the
KHR-1 robot. It is a popular Japanese hobby kit robot used in
Robo-One competitions, a competition that tests bipedal robots against
each other. As for the martial art form said robots will be
performing, I have chosen the Afro-Brazillian style called
Capoeira. Capoeira in itself can be considered performance art
with its acrobatics, dancing, and musical elemets. Another reason
I have chosen Capoeira is that it has the most impressive movements
that a robot can do. The style is very fluid and includes
complicated movement, two things robots are not typically known
for.
With this project, I wanted to develop a robot that moves smoothly and quickly, all while keeping its balance.
With this project, I wanted to develop a robot that moves smoothly and quickly, all while keeping its balance.
KHR-1 Robots
The KHR-1 robots are hobby kit
robots made by the Japanese manafacturer Kondo. They come
ready to be built in two hours and cost roughly $1500 each. They
come with a programming CD that helps hobbyists make the robot perform
preset movements or custom movements via remote control. They
keep their balance with servo motors and they can even shift their
balance to their hands.
I wanted to put some sort of artificial intelligence to the project however. I also wanted to keep with the spirit of Capoeira, spontaneous, unscripted, and unique. With that said, I want to hook up both robots by remote control to a central computer. The match starts the same way each time but after that, the match becomes completely unique because of a random element.
With each action a robot takes, the other robot can react with a another movement from a set of 3-4 movements. Then the first robot reacts to that robot with another set, and so forth.
Annotated Links
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Capoeira
The usual way hobbyists go about they're projects is that they
assign movements to their robots via remote control, so the robots have
no intelligence. If I had the resources, I could attach motion
sensor devices to each robot, and using the newest technology, have the
robot respond quickly enough to each other's movements. A cheap
way would be for me to choreograph the entire sequence of the match and
loop it.Capoeira,
like pretty much every other martial art, is all about an action and a
response to that action. Although Capoeira incorporates hundreds
of movements, I decided to narrow it down to a select few that are the
basis for a typical caopeira game or match. I will program the
robots with a mixture of stances, acrobatics, and kicks.
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Programming
I wanted to put some sort of artificial intelligence to the project however. I also wanted to keep with the spirit of Capoeira, spontaneous, unscripted, and unique. With that said, I want to hook up both robots by remote control to a central computer. The match starts the same way each time but after that, the match becomes completely unique because of a random element.
With each action a robot takes, the other robot can react with a another movement from a set of 3-4 movements. Then the first robot reacts to that robot with another set, and so forth.
Future
With new technology, the robots will be human sized with no need
for a central computer. They will also be programmed to know
every capoeira move known, and can improvise on the fly. Motion
sensors will also provide the tracking. With this new technology,
a human can jump into the match and fight the robot, thus setting the
first step in a chain of events that will lead to the takeover of man
by robots.Annotated Links