Facially expressive humanoid robotic face.

Realistic humanoid robots have emerged in the last two decades but the emotional intelligence of these machines has been limited. To teach humanoids how to emotionally communicate with humans, researchers have been increasingly relying on machine learning algorithms. While the software used to implement machine learning algorithms is largely open source, facially expressive humanoid robots are expensive and inaccessible to most people, thus limiting the number of researchers in this field. This paper aims to aid potential artificial intelligence researchers by providing a relatively inexpensive, open-source robot that can serve as a platform for research into emotional communication between humans and machines. Eva, the robot described in this paper, is an adult-sized humanoid head that can emulate human facial expressions, head movements, and speech through the use of 25 muscles, including 12 facial muscles that can produce a maximum skin displacement of 15 mm.

PARA: A one-meter reach, two-kg payload, three-DoF open source robotic arm with customizable end effector.

This article presents a robotic arm that is more cost effective than existing models on the market while still maintaining sufficient torque and speed capabilities. Most industrial-grade high power and precision arms are often very expensive, while conversely, more low-cost arms targeted toward the education and hobby sectors are inadequate in power and robustness. The Creative Machines Lab's three degree of freedom Printed Articulated Robotic Arm (PARA) can lift a 2 kg payload at a reach of 940 mm, while under a no-load case, it has exhibited a precision of about ±2.6 mm at an end effector speed of 250 mm/s. It costs about $3400 to build, an order of magnitude lower than market models with similar functionalities. This project is also meant to serve as a demonstration of the usage of 3D printed parts as practical tools in industry.