UCLA researchers built PhoneBot, a small humanoid robot. It uses a torso-mounted Android smartphone for vision, motion sensing and movement control. The robot stands 19 inches tall and weighs about 4 pounds including the phone. Hardware costs around $400 excluding the handset. It can walk, track a person and stand up from a face-down position. The phone runs the control software and sends commands via Wi-Fi to an onboard computer. PhoneBot has 13 motors, six in each leg and one rotating its torso. It was tested with four Android phones, including a 2017 Honor 9. The Honor 9 could not run the mapping feature due to missing Google services. PhoneBot is an open-source platform intended for classroom and lab use. The team plans to add lightweight arms and improve walking on uneven terrain. Speech recognition currently runs on an external laptop.
What changed
Robots required separate cameras, motion sensors and processors.
What it unlocks
Using an old smartphone as the brain and sensor suite of a walking robot.
- 19 inches tall
- 4 pounds total weight
- $400 hardware cost
- 13 motors
What you need to act on it
- an Android smartphone
- Wi-Fi connection to onboard computer
Sources