ASPIR V1 — Autonomous Support and Positive Inspiration Robot
A full-size, 4.3-ft open-source 3D-printed humanoid robot with 33 degrees of freedom, built as an affordable alternative to research-grade robots. Featured on Discovery Channel Canada's Daily Planet. Supported by the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at CMU.
Overview
ASPIR (Autonomous Support and Positive Inspiration Robot) is the spiritual successor to Halley: Ambassador Robot 001 — a popular low-cost, open-source, 2.6-ft laser-cut humanoid robot. After showcasing Halley, Choitek found that humanoid robots are incredibly effective at eliciting social-emotional responses from human viewers, but the market offered only two options: tiny affordable toy robots under 2 feet tall, or full-size research-grade robots costing more than sports cars.
ASPIR V1 bridges that gap: a full-size, 4.3-ft open-source 3D-printed humanoid robot that anyone can build.
Specs & Actuation
- 33 degrees of freedom total
- 6 super-size mega servos per leg
- 4 high-torque standard servos per arm
- 5 metal-gear micro servos per hand
- 2 standard servos for head pan/tilt
- Arduino Mega + servo shield for motor control
Build Info
- 90+ 3D-printed parts — requires a large printer (min 10×10×10in build plate, e.g. LulzBot TAZ 6)
- ~300 hours of estimated print time
- ~5 rolls of 1kg PLA filament
- Estimated build cost: ~$2,500
- Full build documented in an extensive Instructables guide
Press & Recognition
- Discovery Channel Canada’s Daily Planet — featured the ASPIR project
- Arduino Blog — “ASPIR is a full-size, Arduino-powered humanoid robot”
- 3DPrint.com — featured build write-up
- Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry — grant #2016-036
Support
Made possible with the generous support of the Frank-Ratchye STUDIO for Creative Inquiry at Carnegie Mellon University (FRFAF grant #2016-036).
Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0.
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