Mercury

A bipedal robot with black legs and a white torso emblazoned with a longhorn silhouette stands in a lab.
Learning to walk, one step at a time. Photo: UT Austin

Mercury is an adult-sized bipedal robot designed to study highly dynamic locomotion. It has passive ankles, so it has to continuously take steps to stay balanced. Keep moving, Mercury.

Creators

UT Austin, Meka Robotics, and Apptronik

Year
2018
Country
United States 🇺🇸
Categories
Features
Bring it on, humans! Video: UT Austin

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Appearance

Neutral

Did you know?

Mercury is named after the Roman god of travelers, typically depicted wearing winged sandals.

Two people stand with the robot, which comes up to the top of their chests.
Machine makers. Photo: UT Austin

Specs

Overview

Dynamically balances by continuously stepping. Precise trajectory tracking using series elastic actuators in all joints. Advanced inertial state estimation and feedback control systems. Whole-body controller can simultaneously handle high-level walking Cartesian tasks and arm based manipulation tasks.

Status

Ongoing

Year

2018

Website
Width
30 cm
Height
150 cm
Length
20 cm
Weight
22 kg
Speed
4 km/h (push recovery stepping)
Sensors

STIM-300 inertial measurement unit (IMU). Optical encoders for motor position and spring deflection sensing. Absolute encoders for joint position sensing. Spring-loaded switch sensor for ground contact switching. PhaseSpace motion capture system.

Actuators

Moog BN23-23 brushless DC motors and Meka 2011 linear series-elastic actuators.

Degrees of Freedom (DoF)
6 (Leg: 3 DoF x 2)
Materials

Carbon fiber torso, linkages and covers on legs, for rigidity. Aluminum series elastic drivetrains.

Compute

Main computer with Intel Core i5-7300U 2.6 GHz, 4 GB RAM

Software

RT-Preempt Ubuntu 16.04 (real time control), custom created Dynacore open-source whole-body locomotion controller

Power

1-kW 48-V DC power supply

Cost
$150,000