DOCSLIB.ORG

Realizing Dynamic and Efficient Bipedal Locomotion on the Humanoid Robot DURUS

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Realizing Dynamic and Efficient Bipedal Locomotion on the Humanoid Robot DURUS Realizing Dynamic and Efficient Bipedal Locomotion on the Humanoid Robot DURUS Jacob Reher1, Eric A. Cousineau2, Ayonga Hereid1, Christian M. Hubicki1, and Aaron D. Ames3 Abstract— This paper presents the methodology used to achieve efficient and dynamic walking behaviors on the pro- totype humanoid robotics platform, DURUS. As a means of providing a hardware platform capable of these behaviors, the design of DURUS combines highly efficient electromechanical components with “control in the loop” design of the leg morphology. Utilizing the final design of DURUS, a formal framework for the generation of dynamic walking gaits which maximizes efficiency by exploiting the full body dynamics of the robot, including the interplay between the passive and active elements, is developed. The gaits generated through this methodology form the basis of the control implementation experimentally realized on DURUS; in particular, the trajec- tories generated through the formal framework yield a feed- forward control input which is modulated by feedback in the form of regulators that compensate for discrepancies between the model and physical system. The end result of the unified approach to control-informed mechanical design, formal gait design and regulator-based feedback control implementation is efficient and dynamic locomotion on the humanoid robot DU- RUS. In particular, DURUS was able to demonstrate dynamic Fig. 1: Humanoid robot DURUS exhibiting dynamic walking locomotion at the DRC Finals Endurance Test, walking for just under five hours in a single day, traveling 3.9 km with a mean behaviors at the DARPA Robotics Challenge Endurance Test. cost of transport of 1.61—the lowest reported cost of transport achieved on a bipedal humanoid robot. I. INTRODUCTION Traditional approaches for locomotion prioritize the ability to complete a wide-variety of tasks, e.g., step placement, The humanoid robot, DURUS, was revealed to the public turning, and stair climbing, over achieving highly dynamic at the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Robot Endurance and efficient locomotion. At the core of most methods em- Test in June 2015 [1]. Developed by SRI International, ployed on robots today is a low-dimensional representation DURUS was designed with the overarching goal of achieving of the full-order robot which utilizes a heuristic notion of never before seen efficiency in locomotion, thereby allowing stability known as the Zero Moment Point (ZMP) criterion for longer autonomous battery-powered operation. This goal [16], [25], and an extension termed Capture Point [20]. is in response to the current state of the art in humanoid The ZMP and capture point methods are robust and allow robots. While there have been dramatic increases in capa- for a variety of walking behaviors; however, the resulting bilities for performing tasks and navigating terrain through locomotion is typically slow and very energy consuming. semi-autonomous task-based operation—as seen in the DRC More recently, there have been several optimization based Finals—this is often achieved at the cost of increased energy controllers [10], [17], [8], [9], [24] proposed in response to usage. The results presented in this paper take the opposite the DARPA Robotics Challenge. However, these approaches perspective by prioritizing a single objective: achieve max- have been applied mainly with ZMP and capture point imum efficiency in locomotion through a holistic design, heuristics coupled with constraints, offer no formal guaran- control and implementation methodology, with a focus on tees, and again lack efficiency. With a view towards creating utilizing the full body dynamics of the robot—leveraging highly efficient walking, the passive dynamics community passive mechanical elements—to realize dynamic walking. [18], [6], [4], [28] has aimed to utilize the passive dynamics This work is supported by the DARPA M3A Program and NSF grants of the robot to attain efficient walking with minimal power CPS-1239055, NRI-1526519 injection from actuators. While these walkers can achieve 1 Jacob Reher, Ayonga Hereid, and Christian M. Hubicki are with the very efficient walking, e.g., the Cornell Ranger has the lowest Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technol- ogy, Atlanta, GA, 30332 USA recorded cost of transport for a legged robot of 0:19 [5], the 2Eric Cousineau is with Mathworks Inc. and is a previous member of the design typically involves the use of many passive elements AMBER Lab such as free-swinging joints and small actuators which make 3Aaron D. Ames is with the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute implementation difficult on a robot which must also have the of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA ability to locomote and still perform a variety tasks. Absolute encoder Cycloidal discs Needle roller bearings Cross roller bearing Chain BLDC Electric reduction Motor Suspension Ankle pivot bushings Coil Fig. 2: Approach to implementing efficient locomotion on springs Bottom-out bumpers DURUS. Specifically, a formally stable walking gait is used Optional foot for time-based position tracking on hardware. A regulator pivot structure then perturbs the trajectories on the torso roll, hip roll, and hip yaw joints for stabilization. Fig. 3: Novel mechanical components used on DURUS in order to improve efficiency in locomotion. This paper presents the methods used to demonstrate dy- namic and efficient walking on the humanoid robot, DURUS, basis for which the control strategy builds upon, is described experimentally. This methodology begins with the design in Sec. II. The mathematical modeling of DURUS is pre- of dynamic and efficient walking gaits on bipedal robots sented in Sec. III. The control approach, including the formal through hybrid zero dynamics (HZD) [2], [12], [15], [26], feedforward gait construction and the feedback regulator [27], a mathematical framework that utilizes hybrid systems structure are detailed in Sec. IV. Finally, the experimental models coupled with nonlinear controllers that provably results are presented in Sec. V. results in stable locomotion. In particular, we utilize HZD to II. DESIGN formulate a nonlinear optimization problem for DURUS that The underlying mechanical and electrical components accounts for the full-body dynamics of the robot in order incorporated into the design of DURUS provide an essen- to maximize the efficiency of the gait. The end result is tial foundation from which the control design can build a nonlinear controller that provably produces stable robotic upon. In particular, a two-pronged approach was taken in walking [2]. The resulting trajectories are realized on the the design of DURUS: (1) novel mechanical and electrical hardware via a feedforward term that encodes the formal components providing significant gains in efficiency and (2) a gait design. To account for differences between the physical leg morphology which was the result of an iterative feedback robot and the ideal model, a heuristic feedback is added to loop between mechanical design and control synthesis. The the control implementation in the form of regulators that components resulting from this approach are shown in Fig. 3. modulate joints based upon environmental perturbations. The control framework presented allows for the full utilization Novel Components. The primary mechanical components of novel mechanical components on DURUS, including: which provided gains in overall efficiency were the actua- efficient cycloidal gearboxes which allow for almost lossless tor and transmission elements (see Fig. 3). Each actuator- transmission of power and compliant elements at the ankles gearbox combination consisted of an electric motor con- for absorbing the impacts at foot-strike. nected via a chain reduction to a custom-designed cycloid At the core of the control architecture implemented on transmission, which can achieve up to 97% efficiency. Each DURUS is the underlying assumption that the dynamics actuator-gearbox unit was lightweight, weighing only 2:7 kg of the electromechanical system will operate near those of and able to output 250 Nm of torque with maximum joint 2 the desired system. The low-level motor controllers of the accelerations exceeding 130 rad/s . robot ensure that the formally generated trajectories will To ultimately realize dynamic and efficient locomotion on be closely tracked, with 0:005 rad rms tracking error for the humanoid robot DURUS, precision in control implemen- the experiments documented in this paper. Also, due to tation is required at every level of the hardware. Therefore, an the relatively small stabilizing perturbations induced by the essential component in the process of realizing locomotion is feedback regulators, the walking trajectories demonstrated a motor controller which can accurately track the trajectories on DURUS in this work are shown to preserve 83:3% of generated in Sec. IV accurately. Custom motor controllers the “formal” gait. Additionally, through the combination are employed on DURUS, allowing for 10 kHz control of of formal controller design and novel mechanical design, torque, current, and position. For the duration of the walking the humanoid robot DURUS was able to achieve a mean analyzed in Sec. V, these motor controllers tracked joint electrical cost of transport of 1:61 over roughly five hours positions with an overall rms error of 0:005 rad and a peak of continuous walking—the lowest recorded electrical cost error of 0:026 rad. Additionally, DURUS is self-powered of transport for a bipedal humanoid robot. with a 1:1 kWh battery pack weighing 9:5 kg. The presented work is structured as follows: The overview Control in the Loop Design. The morphology of DURUS, of the mechanical components, which provide an efficient and specifically the role of passive-compliant elements, di- Electromechanical Design Iter. 0 Iter. 1 Iter. 2 Iter. 3 Iter. 6 Simulation Fig. 4: Iterative design process which facilitated a leg mor- phology satisfying hardware constraints in simulation. Fig. 5: The coordinate system used on DURUS. rectly impacted how well a control scheme could achieve III. ROBOT MODEL efficient and stable dynamic gaits both in simulation and experimentally.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Last of the Dinosaurs
    020063_TimeMachine22.qxd 8/7/01 3:26 PM Page 1 020063_TimeMachine22.qxd 8/7/01 3:26 PM Page 2 This book is your passport into time. Can you survive in the Age of Dinosaurs? Turn the page to find out. 020063_TimeMachine22.qxd 8/7/01 3:26 PM Page 3 The Last of the Dinosaurs by Peter Lerangis illustrated by Doug Henderson A Byron Preiss Book 020063_TimeMachine22.qxd 8/7/01 3:26 PM Page 4 To Peter G. Hayes, for his friendship, interest, and help Copyright @ 1988, 2001 by Byron Preiss Visual Publications “Time Machine” is a registered trademark of Byron Preiss Visual Publications, Inc. Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office. Cover painting by Mark Hallett Cover design by Alex Jay An ipicturebooks.com ebook ipicturebooks.com 24 West 25th St., 11th fl. NY, NY 10010 The ipicturebooks World Wide Web Site Address is: http://www.ipicturebooks.com Original ISBN: 0-553-27007-9 eISBN: 1-59019-087-4 This Text Converted to eBook Format for the Microsoft® Reader. 020063_TimeMachine22.qxd 8/7/01 3:26 PM Page 5 ATTENTION TIME TRAVELER! This book is your time machine. Do not read it through from beginning to end. In a moment you will receive a mission, a special task that will take you to another time period. As you face the dan- gers of history, the Time Machine often will give you options of where to go or what to do. This book also contains a Data Bank to tell you about the age you are going to visit.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring the Social, Moral, and Temporal Qualities of Pre-Service
    Exploring the Social, Moral, and Temporal Qualities of Pre-Service Teachers’ Narratives of Evolution Deirdre Hahn Division of Psychology in Education, College of Education, Arizona State University, PO Box 878409, Tempe, Arizona 85287 [email protected] Sarah K Brem Division of Psychology in Education, College of Education, Arizona State University, PO Box 870611, Tempe, Arizona 85287 [email protected] Steven Semken Department of Geological Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 871404, Tempe, Arizona 85287 [email protected] ABSTRACT consequences of accepting evolutionary theory. That is, both evolutionists and creationists tend to believe that Elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers may accepting evolutionary theory will result in a greater experience considerable unease when teaching evolution ability to justify or engage in racist or selfish behavior, in the context of the Earth or life sciences (Griffith and and will reduce people's sense of purpose and Brem, in press). Many factors may contribute to their self-determination. Further, Griffith and Brem (in press) discomfort, including personal conceptualizations of the found that in-service science teachers frequently share evolutionary process - especially human evolution, the these same beliefs and to avoid controversy in the most controversial aspect of evolutionary theory. classroom, the teachers created their own boundaries in Knowing more about the mental representations of an curriculum and teaching practices. evolutionary process could help researchers to There is a historical precedent for uneasiness around understand the challenges educators face in addressing evolutionary theory, particularly given its use to explain scientific principles. These insights could inform and justify actions performed in the name of science.
    [Show full text]
  • Humanoid Robots Are Perceived As an Evolutionary Threat
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.13.456053; this version posted August 13, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. Humanoid robots are perceived as an evolutionary threat Zhengde Wei1, +, Ying Chen 2, +, Jiecheng Ren1, Yi Piao1, Pengyu Zhang1, Rujing Zha1, Bensheng Qiu3, Daren Zhang1, Yanchao Bi4, Shihui Han5, Chunbo Li6 *, Xiaochu Zhang1, 2, 3, 7 * 1 Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China 2 School of Humanities & Social Science, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China 3 Centers for Biomedical Engineering, School of Information Science and Technology, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China 4 State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China 5 School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China 6 Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200030, China 7 Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387, China + These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] 1 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.13.456053; this version posted August 13, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • Valkyrie: NASA's First Bipedal Humanoid Robot
    Valkyrie: NASA's First Bipedal Humanoid Robot Nicolaus A. Radford, Philip Strawser, Kimberly Hambuchen, Joshua S. Mehling, William K. Verdeyen, Stuart Donnan, James Holley, Jairo Sanchez, Vienny Nguyen, Lyndon Bridgwater, Reginald Berka, Robert Ambrose∗ NASA Johnson Space Center Christopher McQuin NASA Jet Propulsion Lab John D. Yamokoski Stephen Hart, Raymond Guo Institute of Human Machine Cognition General Motors Adam Parsons, Brian Wightman, Paul Dinh, Barrett Ames, Charles Blakely, Courtney Edmonson, Brett Sommers, Rochelle Rea, Chad Tobler, Heather Bibby Oceaneering Space Systems Brice Howard, Lei Nui, Andrew Lee, David Chesney Robert Platt Jr. Michael Conover, Lily Truong Wyle Laboratories Northeastern University Jacobs Engineering Gwendolyn Johnson, Chien-Liang Fok, Eric Cousineau, Ryan Sinnet, Nicholas Paine, Luis Sentis Jordan Lack, Matthew Powell, University of Texas Austin Benjamin Morris, Aaron Ames Texas A&M University ∗Due to the large number of contributors toward this work, email addresses and physical addresses have been omitted. Please contact Kris Verdeyen from NASA-JSC at [email protected] with any inquiries. Abstract In December 2013, sixteen teams from around the world gathered at Homestead Speedway near Miami, FL to participate in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Trials, an aggressive robotics competition, partly inspired by the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi reactor incident. While the focus of the DRC Trials is to advance robotics for use in austere and inhospitable environments, the objectives of the DRC are to progress the areas of supervised autonomy and mobile manipulation for everyday robotics. NASA's Johnson Space Center led a team comprised of numerous partners to develop Valkyrie, NASA's first bipedal humanoid robot.
    [Show full text]
  • Proceedings First Annual Palo Alto Conference
    PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST ANNUAL PALO ALTO CONFERENCE An International Conference on the Mexican-American War and its Causes and Consequences with Participants from Mexico and the United States. Brownsville, Texas, May 6-9, 1993 Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site Southwest Region National Park Service I Cover Illustration: "Plan of the Country to the North East of the City of Matamoros, 1846" in Albert I C. Ramsey, trans., The Other Side: Or, Notes for the History of the War Between Mexico and the I United States (New York: John Wiley, 1850). 1i L9 37 PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST ANNUAL PALO ALTO CONFERENCE Edited by Aaron P. Mahr Yafiez National Park Service Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site P.O. Box 1832 Brownsville, Texas 78522 United States Department of the Interior 1994 In order to meet the challenges of the future, human understanding, cooperation, and respect must transcend aggression. We cannot learn from the future, we can only learn from the past and the present. I feel the proceedings of this conference illustrate that a step has been taken in the right direction. John E. Cook Regional Director Southwest Region National Park Service TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction. A.N. Zavaleta vii General Mariano Arista at the Battle of Palo Alto, Texas, 1846: Military Realist or Failure? Joseph P. Sanchez 1 A Fanatical Patriot With Good Intentions: Reflections on the Activities of Valentin GOmez Farfas During the Mexican-American War. Pedro Santoni 19 El contexto mexicano: angulo desconocido de la guerra. Josefina Zoraida Vazquez 29 Could the Mexican-American War Have Been Avoided? Miguel Soto 35 Confederate Imperial Designs on Northwestern Mexico.
    [Show full text]
  • The Significant Other: a Literary History of Elves
    1616796596 The Significant Other: a Literary History of Elves By Jenni Bergman Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Cardiff School of English, Communication and Philosophy Cardiff University 2011 UMI Number: U516593 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U516593 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not concurrently submitted on candidature for any degree. Signed .(candidate) Date. STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. (candidate) Date. STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. Signed. (candidate) Date. 3/A W/ STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed (candidate) Date. STATEMENT 4 - BAR ON ACCESS APPROVED I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan after expiry of a bar on accessapproved bv the Graduate Development Committee.
    [Show full text]
  • Maps, Myths, and Monsters
    Maps, Myths, and Monsters Completed By: 1 Introduction When Sebastian Munster was making maps in the early 1500s, he wanted to include pictures of people and animals from far away. But Munster didn’t have photographs or the internet to help him-- instead he had to rely on stories from explorers and very old books for his information. Munster lived during a time period we call the Renaissance, which lasted from about 1450 to 1600. Europe was discovering a lot about the world during the Renaissance, but there was still a lot that they misunderstood. Directions: Find the following images of mythical characters and creatures on the Renaissance maps and illustrations provided. Make sure to note the item numbers when you find the images. Part One: Myths Myths are stories that include supernatural beings or events in order to explain how nature, ideas, or practices came into existence. Medieval Myths In the Middle Ages, people were taught to believe that the only source of truth was the Catholic Church. Even though map people during the Renaissance began to believe that science and logic were the keys to knowledge, many medieval myths were still widely accepted. 1. If you asked most Europeans during the Middle Ages how human beings came to exist, they would likely tell you the story of Adam and Eve, found in the Book of Genesis, which is included in the Bible. According to Genesis, the first man, Adam was created from dust by god. The first woman, Eve, was created from a rib of Adams. In the Medieval worldview, all human beings are descendants of Adam.
    [Show full text]
  • Biomimetic Bi-Pedal Humanoid: Design, Actuation, and Control Implementation with Focus on Robotic Legs
    Biomimetic Bi-Pedal Humanoid: Design, Actuation, and Control Implementation with Focus on Robotic Legs MICHAEL LOUIS OKYEN Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science In Mechanical Engineering Shashank Priya, Chair Steve Southward Alfred Wicks April 5, 2013 Blacksburg, VA Keywords: humanoid, biomimetic, legs, mechatronics, hydraulics Biomimetic Bi-Pedal Humanoid: Design, Actuation, and Control Implementation with Focus on Robotic Legs Michael Louis Okyen ABSTRACT The advancements made in technology over the past several decades have brought the field of humanoid robotics closer to integration into the everyday lives of humans. Despite these advances, the cost of these systems consistently remains high, thus limiting the environments in which these robots can be deployed. In this thesis, a pair of low-cost, bio-mimetic legs for a humanoid robot was developed with 12 degrees of freedom: three at the hip, one at the knee, and two at the ankle. Prior to developing the robot, a survey of the human-sized robotic legs released from 2006-2012 was conducted. The analysis included a summary of the key performance metrics and trends in series of human-sized robots. Recommendations were developed for future data reporting that will allow improved comparison of different prototypes. The design of the new robotic legs in this thesis utilized human anatomy data to devise performance parameters and select actuators. The developed system was able to achieve comparable ROM, size, weight, and torque to a six-foot tall human. Position and zero-moment point sensors were integrated for use in balancing, and a control architecture was developed.
    [Show full text]
  • Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition Index – Monsters – Sorted by HD
    Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition Index – Monsters – sorted by HD http://www.crystalkeep.com/d20 Report Suggestions or Errors at http://www.crystalkeep.com/forums/index.php Collected by Chet Erez ([email protected]) August 31, 2006 Table of Contents Page Aberrations........................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 Animals................................................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Constructs .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 11 Deathless............................................................................................................................................................................................ 14 Dragons.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Elementals.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Fey ....................................................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Presentations Lowqualitypdf
    Welcome 04 Maps 06 Schedule Overview – Sun, 3/3 15 – Mon, 3/4 16 – Tue, 3/5 18 – Wed, 3/6 20 Visits 22 Tutorials and Workshops 23 Plenary Talk 27 Panel Session 30 Session 32 Map - Demo & Poster 46 Late-Breaking Reports & Poster Session 48 Video Session 56 Demo Session 60 Exhibition 66 Sponsorship 68 Organizers 72 Reviewers 74 Welcome to Tokyo! The Eighth Annual Accompanying the full papers are the Late ACM/IEEE International Conference on Breaking Reports, Videos, and Demos. Hideaki Kuzuoka Welcome Human-Robot Interaction (HRI 2013) is a For the LBR, 95 out of 100 (95%) two- HRI’13 General Co-Chair highly selective conference that aims to page papers were accepted and will be University of Tsukuba, Japan showcase the very best interdisciplinary presented as posters at the conference. and multidisciplinary research in human- For the Videos, 16 of 22 (72%) short videos robot interaction with roots in robotics, were accepted and will be presented during social psychology, cognitive science, HCI, the video session. The Demos is new to our Vanessa Evers human factors, artificial intelligence, conference. We have 22 robot systems for HRI’13 General Co-Chair design, engineering, and many more. We all participants to be able to interact with University of Twente, Netherlands invite broad participation and encourage the innovative systems. discussion and sharing of ideas across a diverse audience. Rounding out the program are two keynote Michita Imai speakers who will discuss topics relevant to HRI’13 Program Co-Chair Robotics is growing increasingly HRI: Dr. Yuichiro Anzai and Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • The Natural History Museum Resounded with the Roar of a Dinosaur the “Bad Breath” Tyrannosaurus Is Much Loved by People!
    “Doukoku”“Actroid”, and“Pet Robot” are registered trademarks of Kokoro. The Natural History Museum resounded with the roar of a dinosaur The “bad breath” Tyrannosaurus is much loved by people! A giant dinosaur appeared on the front page of various newspapers in the U.K. on February 7, 2001. The dinosaur which captured the hearts of visitors to the museum was Kokoro’s animatronic Tyrannosaurus, one of the top stars among our products. The NHM has been exhibiting a lot of Kokoro’s animatronics so far as our agent in Europe. Dinosaurs are the most popular among them and approximately 100 animatronics are exhibited in Europe. The Tyrannosaurus in the photos is the latest dinosaur robot with a body length of 6.5m which has been scaled up equipped with the air servo system developed by Kokoro. In addition to the towering giant body and more powerful movements than ever, “dinosaur’s bad breath” developed by the NHM was added to the dinosaur robot. With its overwhelming punch, this “giant and smelly” Tyrannosaurus satisfies even discriminating dinosaur fans who have seen a lot of dinosaur robots in many scenes. Its dynamism can be seen even from the photos, like roaring at visitors with its mouth wide open and letting out its bad breath when visitors approach it. At first, it was exhibited in the entrance hall of the NHM for only a limited time in 2000. However, it gained unexpectedly so much popularity that the NHM had a flood of inquiries asking “Where has the dinosaur gone?” when the dinosaur robot was removed for the next exhibition.
    [Show full text]
  • Eiglophian Lodge
    Conceptualized by JACK VANCE and E. GARY GYGAX Additional Material by SHADRAC MQ Edited by GREG GORGONMILK Afterword by GREYHARP ABOVE ILLUSTRATION BY MOEBIUS EIGLOPHIAN LODGE E G L 0 0 3 M A R C H 2 0 1 3 This humble book of magical lore is hereby dedicated to BLAIR OF ALGOL, DAVID MACAULY and MATT SCHMEER and all the other OSR gurus who cast green fireballs on my imagination. FIGHT ON! 2 C O N T E N T S TURJAN OF MIIR 5 Fiction by JACK VANCE MAZIRIAN THE MAGE 20 Fiction by JACK VANCE THE D&D MAGIC SYSTEM 37 Non-fiction by E. GARY GYGAX ROLE-PLAYING: REALISM VS GAME LOGIC 43 Non-fiction by E. GARY GYGAX AD&D'S MAGIC SYSTEM: HOW AND WHY IT WORKS 52 Non-fiction by E. GARY GYGAX 3 JACK VANCE AND THE D&D GAME 58 Non-fiction by E. GARY GYGAX DYING EARTH SPELLS FOR D&D 63 Optional Rules by SHADRAC MQ AFTERWORD 91 by GREYHARP SOURCES 92 ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL HUTTER 4 TURJAN OF MIIR by JACK VANCE TURJAN SAT IN HIS WORKROOM, legs sprawled out from the stool, back against and elbows on the bench. Across the room was a cage; into this Turjan gazed with rueful vexation. The creature in the cage returned the scrutiny with emotions beyond conjecture. It was a thing to arouse pity—a great head on a small spindly body, with weak rheumy eyes and a flabby button of a nose. The mouth hung slackly wet, the skin glistened waxy pink.
    [Show full text]