Humanoid robot could placate frustrated airline passengers

Fully-interactive, multilingual humanoid seeks role in aviation sector

In demand: Museums and organisations such as Nasa have purchased the robots

A small British company that builds remarkably realistic humanoid robots for the entertainment and education markets is looking to expand into more commercial sectors.

Engineered Arts, based in Cornwall, has sold dozens of its RoboThespian life-sized humanoids to science museums and academic institutions around the world. Now it is targeting other industries which could benefit from the delivery of information to customers in an engaging and interactive way.

Marcus Hold, design and production engineer at Engineered Arts, said: “We have sold these robots in 16 countries to science museums and organisations such as Nasa. They are excellent at delivering information in an engaging way.

“We think there are new markets. You could see these robots at airports, perhaps explaining to customers why there have been delays. Or in shopping malls, providing directions. There are many new applications for human/robot interaction.”



RoboThespian is a fully-interactive, multilingual humanoid that can deliver pre-programmed specific content. It comes with a user-friendly touch-screen interface for swift composition of audio routines. The robot is also fitted with motion capture technology, enabling it to track the movement of people in front of it. It has over 26 axes, and is powered with a mixture of pneumatic and servo actuators.

Engineered Arts is also developing a next-generation robot, code-named ByRun, that will be able to hop and walk. It will also feature greater freedom of movement, being fitted with bi-articulate upper arms and grasping hand manipulation.

“The challenge for our engineers is to get it walking with a natural, realistic gait,” said Hold. “At present, RoboThespian is tethered. But with ByRun, that might not be the case.”



Earlier this week Engineered Arts won a Manus design award for the innovative use of polymer bearings within its RoboThespian humanoid. A total of 85 iglidur polymer bearings from Igus are installed on each robot, enabling fluid and friction-free movement for a human-like performance. “The Igus bearings are perfectly suited to this application because they are lightweight and they are maintenance-free,” added Hold. “This contributes to a longer life for RoboThespians around the world.”