WAR MACHINE - Autonomous humanoid robot

Vision Statement

Meet War Machine, a compact humanoid robot designed to have a commanding presence. Originally designed at 55 cm tall, the robot will be upgraded to 1 meter in height. Weighing 5-6 kg (will increase proportionally with height upgrade), this robot navigates spaces, maps obstacles, and responds to visual input. It can speak, understand simple commands, and perform various movements including walking, running, push-ups, light boxing drills, and dance routines. The "armaments" are theatrical effects only—lights, sounds, and motion props for entertainment, not harm. The goal is a confident, expressive robot combining performance, utility, and safety.

System Specifications

Physical Specifications

• Current Height: 55 cm (upgrading to 1 meter)

• Current Weight: 5.5-6.0 kg target mass

• Form Factor: Modular design (hip/abs/chest torso, single arm + head)

Actuation System

• Hip

  • Servo Type: 40 kg-class servo

  • Gear Reduction: 2:1

  • Available Torque: ~7.8 N·m

• Knee

  • Servo Type: MG996R

  • Gear Reduction: 8-12:1 (harmonic/gear)

  • Available Torque: 10-12 N·m

• Shoulder

  • Servo Type: MG996R

  • Gear Reduction: 2:1

  • Available Torque: 4-7.8 N·m

• Elbow

  • Servo Type: MG996R

  • Gear Reduction: 1.5:1

  • Available Torque: ~1.5 N·m

• Wrist

  • Servo Type: 9g servo

  • Gear Reduction: Direct drive

  • Available Torque: N/A

Computing & Control

• Main Processor: NVIDIA Jetson Nano

• Real-time Control: Dedicated microcontroller stack (1 kHz joint PID)

• Sensors: IMU, ToF/LiDAR, camera, current/voltage monitoring, bump sensors

• Communication: I2C/SPI bus with watchdog protection

Power System

• Battery: 3S 18650 pack (12-18 cells)

• Capacity: 10-15 Ah equivalent

• Design: Hot-swappable sled configuration

• Protection: Fused rails with per-group current limiting

Performance Metrics

• Walking Speed: 0.2-0.25 m/s

• Payload Capacity: 300g at 20cm reach

• Duty Cycle Example:

  • 10m walk (~40s) + pick 300g + 10m return (~40s) = ~90s total

  • Power consumption: ~75 mAh per cycle at ~3A average

Runtime Estimates

• Standby Mode: 10-20 hours

• Moderate Use: 4-7 hours

• Heavy Use: 2.5-3.5 hours

Mechanical Architecture

Dimensions (Current 55cm Design)

• Leg Segments: ~25 cm each

• Hip Block: 6.5 × 12 × 7 cm

• Abs Section: 5.5 × 12 × 8 cm (battery housing)

• Chest: 11 × 13 × 10 cm (compute & power distribution)

• Arm Reach: ~25 cm total

• Head: 7 × 7 cm (camera & pan/tilt mount)

Materials

• 3D-printed PETG/ABS components

• Aluminum standoffs for structural support

• Steel inserts at high-stress points

Safety Features

• Current limiting on all power rails

• Soft-start motor control

• Emergency stop loop

• Software-enforced joint travel limits

• "Limp" mode for safe power-down

• Staged torque ramping

• Brownout recovery protection

Interaction Capabilities

1. Autonomous Mode: Navigate, locate objects via fiducials, pick/place operations

2. Teleoperation: WiFi-based web UI for remote control

3. Scripted Routines: YAML-based skill chaining (stand, wave, pick, place)

4. Safety Override: Automatic fault detection triggers limp mode

Current Progress

Completed

• Lower-torso frame assembly

• Functional prototype arm

• Gear test rigs and dimensioned drawings

• Power distribution board with fused rails

• Basic joint PID control with slew limiting

• Teleop sandbox environment

Next Steps

1. Complete Leg v1 assembly with stance controller tuning

2. Finalize battery sled v1 (12-cell configuration)

3. Implement gait control on flat surfaces

4. Integrate arm with pick-place functionality

5. Harden safety systems (e-stop, watchdogs, fault recovery)

Future Goals

• Two-arm configuration for coordinated manipulation

• Vision-guided picking using AprilTags/fiducials

• Voice and gesture control interface

• Enhanced obstacle avoidance

Technical Notes

• Torque calculations verified: Hip requires ~6 N·m (2.5 kg leg at 0.25m lever arm)

• Knee torque: ~4 N·m requirement, 10-12 N·m available (comfortable margin)

• Shoulder manipulation: 0.6 N·m needed for 300g at 20cm (well within capacity)

Note: All specifications above are for the current 55cm design. The 1-meter upgrade will require proportional scaling of torque requirements, power systems, and structural components.