Introducing SmallKat!




The functional structure can be broken down into two major blocks, the high level gait & kinematics computation done in bowler studio and the lower level done by the micro controller on board the robot.

Bowler Studio functional diagram:

MCU Functional Diagram:



Competition to SmallKat falls on one of two sides, far more expensive than our market will bear or incapable of being used as a teaching tool. In the expensive side we have the Boston Dynamics spot mini. Spot is an excellent platform but at an estimated ~$1/4 million, its well outside the budget of an teaching lab. As students learn, they break hardware, and that would be expensive hardware to break. On the other side is Nybble and the Sony Ibo. Nybble is interesting, but with 2 dof legs, it cant even actuate enough  to turn without skidding the feet. Since 3dof legs are necessary for stable walking, Nybble isn't suitable for teaching dynamics. The sony Ibo is a statically stable device only and while it can right itself, its actuators are not fast enough for dynamic compensation. 

There are over 80 undergraduate programs in the us : and hundreds more worldwide. We estimate teaching labs would repurchase new hardware every 4 years (on average). With that cycle time we would need 12 customers for continuous break-even.

Here is Grace the SmallKat! 

The simple electronics platform is a single ESP32, 16 servos, 3 switch mode BEC's and a BNO055 IMU.  This platform is easiest to source assemble using of OTS parts plus printed pieces. This platform streams sensor data up, and servo positions down, using the WiFi built into the ESP32. This configuration is easy to develop for because the code kinematics/walking gait code runs on a nearby PC. Kinematics and walking gait/body controllers can be swapped out on-the-fly without restarting SmallKats controller making development fast. Once algorithms are finalized and published to Git, they can be loaded by the second configuration and run in a tight real-time loop with the hardware. A downside to this configuration is that it is only as stable as your WiFi signal in the room. 

Here is a video of the SmallKat in slo-mo
