Exploring EOF Explosion proof Humanoid Robots: Innovation and Future Prospects
Recently, EOF Robotics has launched the world’s first explosion-proof humanoid robot – Tiankui 1. This innovative achievement stems from a deep consideration of application scenarios and technologies. Here, we will share many insights about this unique humanoid robot.
1、 Why did EOF invest in the research and development of humanoid robots?
EOF, as a technology enterprise dedicated to robots and AI algorithms, providing core product services for industries such as energy and municipal services, always adheres to the vision of introducing cutting-edge robot technology into the field of industrial intelligent operation and maintenance. The Tiankui series industrial explosion-proof heavy-duty humanoid robot is a powerful operation assistant in industrial hazardous environments, an advanced work of existing industrial inspection robots, and a key link in building a closed-loop system from problem discovery to problem-solving ability in the field of industrial intelligent operation and maintenance.
2、 What are the differences between the Tiankui explosion-proof humanoid robot and mainstream general-purpose robots?
As a toB robot enterprise with a focus on scenario implementation, EOF deeply considers customer needs. The complexity and high precision requirements of industrial scenarios are completely different from those of household and civilian scenarios. Therefore, the Tiankui robot has two significant characteristics:
- * * High protection level * *: EOF has accumulated rich structural design knowledge with 8 years of experience in dealing with complex hazardous industrial scenes, ensuring that robots can operate stably in environments with wide temperature and high humidity, strong magnetic and dusty, flammable and explosive, etc. The Tiankui series robots have become the world’s first humanoid robots to obtain IICT6 explosion-proof certification, and have undergone special treatment in terms of motion structure, power system, electrical circuits, and other aspects.
- * * High precision operation capability * : This not only involves structural design, but also relies on advanced AI applications with embodied intelligence such as multimodal perception, force feedback and control, industrial equipment identification and fault diagnosis. Faced with challenges, EOF adopts a step-by-step strategy: – * Optimized structural design * *: Continuing to use humanoid biomimetic logic, adopting dual arm operation, strengthening end load. When the single arm is fully extended horizontally, the end load can reach 15kg, meeting the high torque and high load operation requirements of industry. At the same time, the waist structure is optimized by adopting a waist folding and lifting design, which allows the arms to be vertically extended up to a maximum end height of 3m, improving the efficiency of high-level operations. The chassis is designed with a wheeled structure, which enhances walking efficiency and endurance.
-Innovative operation mode: At present, a combination of remote operation and pre training is adopted. Through the cockpit, operators can quickly deliver the robot to the work site and use a remote manipulator with force feedback for operation. The homework process will be recorded as a sample for training the robot model. For specific tasks such as closing switches, rotating valves, drilling holes, etc., they can be completed through one click sequential control in the cockpit. In the future, through continuous human-machine collaboration, the perception, motion control, and task decision-making abilities of robots will be enhanced, gradually achieving fully embodied intelligent operations.
3、 Why does Tiankui Explosion proof Humanoid Robot choose a wheeled chassis instead of a legged one?
Foot and wheel have their own advantages and disadvantages, and EOF makes choices based on scenario thinking. In industrial sites, wheeled vehicles can cover over 90% of work scenarios, and cross floor requirements can be met with the help of industrial elevators. From the user’s perspective, reliability, economic accessibility, and operational capability are more critical. Therefore, EOF will focus on improving the dual arm operation capability and load capacity in its research and development. The chassis adopts a universal four-wheel eight drive explosion-proof wheel architecture, which has features such as long range, multi terrain adaptation, and multi-sensor fusion navigation, and is capable of meeting the accessibility requirements of complex industrial environments. However, the foot type still faces challenges in terms of walking stability, endurance, and explosion-proof structural design, making it more suitable for lightweight C-end scenarios.
4、 What industrial scenarios is the Tiankui explosion-proof humanoid robot suitable for?
Tiankui robots are widely used in the power industry for on-site switch opening and closing, pipe valve operation, such as switching operations in power grid substations and remote operation of transmission and transformation equipment in offshore wind power boosting stations; Remote operation and complex maintenance operations for coal transportation, chemical water treatment, boilers, and other scenarios in thermal power plants; Representative maintenance operations for micro radiation scenes inside nuclear islands of nuclear power plants; Partial valve switching, motor start stop and other operations in the explosion-proof scene of petrochemical industry effectively reduce the safety risks of personnel on site. In theory, complex industrial hazardous scenarios can be operated by Tiankui robots on behalf of humans, and even modern human maintenance can be implemented in the future. In emergency rescue scenarios such as explosive discharge, demolition, etc., it can also be completed through remote operation.
5、 How does EOF view the future development of humanoid robots?
The application prospects of humanoid robots are clear, but the development path is full of challenges. Humanoid robots are not structural innovations, but rather an integration of existing technologies. In recent years, the development of AI technology has brought more possibilities for humanoid robots. The integration of large models and humanoid robots can enhance their multimodal perception recognition, interaction, and motion planning and control capabilities, but there is still a long way to go before they can be used universally. For example, imitating human small movements and achieving scene generalization requires a large amount of pre training. In addition, the commercialization of humanoid robots also faces challenges:
- Challenge for C-end applications: Most humanoid robots are positioned for C-end applications, such as home management and elderly care. However, the non-standard and uncertain C-end scenarios require extremely high generalization ability. Even if the terminal selling price drops to less than 100000 yuan, it is still relatively high for individual consumers, and their payment ability limits their large-scale commercial applications.
- B-end application potential: B-end has strong payment capabilities. In complex and dangerous scenarios, the replacement of humans by humanoid robots not only has cost value but also safety added value, which makes B-end customers willing to purchase at a premium. In addition, the standardization and normalization of B-end scenario tasks are beneficial for the implementation of Rule based AI training in vertical scenarios at present. Therefore, from the perspective of EOF, the application of B-end humanoid robots is worth investing in, and even has the potential to achieve large-scale implementation earlier than C-end.