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The Nippon Institute of Technology, with Harada Vehicle Design, ZMP, and ZNUG Design, have developed a humanoid robot about the size of an elementary school student for educational purposes.  The university adopted 35 of ZMP’s e-nuvo WALK robots in 2004 for a 1:1 student-robot ratio.  Whereas the e-nuvo WALK (the educational version of NUVO) is quite small, the new robot is tall enough to interact with its environment in a more meaningful way.  Students will demonstrate the robot at elementary and junior high schools, as well as care facilities.  The goal is to improve student learning by raising awareness of bipedal robot technology and its connection to math and physics, while also giving them hands-on experience with the bot.  Additionally, by visiting care facilities the university students will come to understand the real-world needs and applications for robots.

The Robotics Developer Studio (RDS) Simulator is a key feature of the package that allows you to get started without buying expensive robots. It is a great tool for use in education. The add-ons outlined below help you to create your own simulation environments and get started on learning about robotics.

Kota Nezu of ZNUG Design talks about his work developing the look of ZMP’s RoboCar, an educational platform for researchers working on autonomous vehicles.  The video is entirely Japanese, but you can see some cool CAD work and there’s some explanatory slides in this .PDF file.  Nezu-san also designed ZMP’s e-nuvo Humanoid, and Toyota’s personal transporter, the i-unit (seen in model form on his desk).  Part 2 follows after the break for those interested.