Hybrid Soft/bone android experiment

thingiverse

As you note the importance of verifying the completeness of the information, rest assured that I'll make every effort to track down any missing pieces if needed. This experiment aimed to replicate the muscle/tendon/bone structure in a humanoid form, focusing on achieving a balance between robotics and biological principles rather than an accurate mimicry. Tensegrity principles, particularly those related to the spine, inspired the design. The parts were crafted with the capability of being printed using a Form2 SLA printer, while the muscle/tendon stand-ins are made from silicone. Dragon skin 10 is used for shoulder joints and Shore A 40 silicone resin for spinal joints. The silicone components were cast in shallow molds with break-apart features to allow for various lengths and minimize damage when removing them. The tendons slide over mushroom-like anchor points on the bones, enabling a wide range of movement that closely mimics human shoulder movement. As this was an experimental endeavor, extra anchor points were added to the ribcage. The prototype performed exceptionally well, with the tendons around the sockets holding the bones in their correct positions and providing a smooth, human-like range of motion. You can witness some of the movement's capabilities on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh9nBmOwDEU. Due to time constraints, this test was not further developed, and I had hoped to transition onto silicone artificial muscles for a larger model. However, I have yet to run sufficient tests with these components.