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So far, we are the only research unit working on #flying #jetpowered #humanoidrobotics; for real. The video below then shows a sneek peek of the work we have been doing over the last two years to implement and test a new jet-powered humanoid robot, the #iRonCub3. The complexity of this research axis much differs from the classical challenges of humanoid robotics: #thermodynamics plays a pivotal role, since turbine emission gas is at about 800 degrees celsius and at almost the speed of sound; #aerodynamics of multi-body systems needs #neuralnetworks with #physicsinformed components to be evaluated on-line; #controllersettings need to combine high- and low-bandwidth actuators as joints and turbines; #planners are required to generate not only motor dynamics but also turbine trajectories; the hashtag#experimental validation is as serious as dangerous, so there is little room for improvisations. Right now, we are in the process of testing iRonCub3 in our new flight and control area: a big leap forward than what we did for the iRonCub2 (see IEEE Spectrum). In particular, iRonCub3 surpasses its previous version in a number of features: the robot is based on iCub3 - see - so #tendons have been removed, #ft sensors integrated in the #jetpacks , new #electronics was designed, #control and #planners are of a new generation at higher frequency. Although challenging and difficult to dictate timelines, we are confident that this new robot and setup will be more effective during hovering. So, stay tuned. I am truly thankful to the researchers and engineers working on this research axis, and without whom the associated complexity would be unmanageable. First, Gabriele Nava, scrum master of the iRonCub team dealing with integration, management, and procedures, and then (alphabetical order): Fabio Bergonti, mechanics and control, Francesca Bruzzone, video and media, Davide Gorbani, on-line control and embedded systems, Giuseppe L'Erario, trajectory planning and estimation, Hosameldin A. O. Mohamed, thrust force estimation and FT modelling, Antonello Paolino, aerodynamics modelling and control, Shabarish Purushothaman Pillai, mechanics and integration, Saverio Taliani, mpc and validation, Vpunith Reddy, mechanics and co-design, Silvio Traversaro, software architectures and modelling, Nicholas Tremaroli, telemetry and estimation. This is possible thanks only to the entire Artificial and Mechanical Intelligence and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, which keeps helping in making impossible ideas come true.
