ryuma niiyama: athlete robot

'athlete' in motion
all images courtesy of ryuma niiyama


japanese engineer ryuma niiyama has sent us images of his project 'athlete', a bipedal robot
that runs on legs powered by pneumatic muscles. designed while he was a PhD candidate
at the university of tokyo, 'athlete' was developed in collaboration with niiyama's colleague
satoshi nishikawa and advisor professor yasuo kuniyoshi. the goal of the project was to understand
the principles of animal motion, particularly the dynamic and agile movements of the human athlete.



'athlete robot'


the key idea of the project was to extract the essential properties of the human body and build an
'artificial' musculoskeletal system for the robot. during their research the group rediscovered a value
of pneumatic artificial muscle that was developed during the 1950's. known as 'air muscle',
it is a lightweight and powerful device, that is suitable for explosive movements.



detail of the robot's mechanics


each leg has seven sets of artificial muscles, containing one to six penumatic actuators that resemble
over-sized muscle fiber. elastic blades are used for the robot's feet and are based on the latest research
in sports biomechanics. the springy legs allow for natural and efficient movements, while the 'bones'
of the robot are made mostly of nylon and carbon FRP (fiber reinforced polymer). the design process
of the bio-inspired (mechanisms learned from animals), was a complex process of discovering the essentials
in harmony between engineering and biology.



each foot is made from an elastic blade



biological to mechanical breakdown



rendering of the mechanics



different components of 'athlete'




via singularity hub