Paradigm Black is my initial mechanical prototype constructed to explore a new hypothesis of robotic design and utilization. As I have been fascinated with robotics for most of my life, I have often wondered why machines such as the robotic arms seen in modern factories remain the most common form of robotics used in a practical setting. While the more fantastical robots, those that can walk or emulate human behavior are mostly restricted to the realm of science-fiction; things that make for good entertainment, but are commonly believed to be more novelty than reality.
Indeed, I find it strange that one could look at a machine that walks upon legs and so easily dismiss its practicality while the animals that have dominated this world for millennia have done so not with wheels but with limbs. This is not to say that the former does not have its place in robotics, it is merely a proclamation that surely - logically, if we are to create machines that go beyond the confines of the assembly line, we must learn to design them with the same grace and effectiveness of nature.
Modern robots have a stigma with many, especially those living in western societies, they are seen as loud, frightening, disturbing in the jerky motions of their servos and most commonly as potentially dangerous, if not now then most certainly in the future. However, this view was not always so; in times long ago, before the invention of the motherboard or the servo, people created intricate machines that replicated natural processes, and were held in very high esteem. These machines were known as automatons, and as many textbooks will state, are considered the forerunners of modern robotics.
Automatons are designed to do only certain movements, certain actions and only when the mechanisms that comprise them allow them to function. However, they perform such actions flawlessly, repeatably, and consistently because of such limitations. They lack only the means of control that is necessary for determining and harnessing their actions in a meaningful way; at least, they did.
Each year, the robotics agency DARPA holds a competition known as the DARPA Robotics Challenge, in which, teams from around the world are given the task of building a robot capable of completing various actions. Some are quite daunting, such as picking up a tool to use while some are as simple as walking a short distance. Yet despite the caliber of the teams competing, and the level of technology on display, time after time nearly all of the machines fall down, some after making only one step. It is clear that the fault lies not in our technology, but in our philosophy.
So then, why does the two million dollar robot fall down while the twenty dollar wind-up automaton walk? It is a matter of control, or lack of control. For the aspiring roboticist tasked with designing a machine that emulates the functionality of an organic organism, it is easy to become overwhelmed with the amount of variables one can encounter even when taking a single step. How soft is the surface of the soil? What angle does the foot need to contact the ground with? Will a gust of wind disrupt the machine's balance? Thus the common reaction to such problems is to solve them in programming - make the machine smarter, make it analyze the density of the ground, make it contemplate the wind speed and the angular momentum of its body. In essence, modern roboticists are very keen to make robots that emulate some kind of super-being, rather than something that is the product of natural evolution.
Observe if you will a small animal wandering around a forest. As it travels, its legs move in a specific, and limited range of motion to propel it forward. It has no idea whether or not its next step will be successful or cause it to tumble, and even if it does fall, it is programmed with a simple series of limited movements to get back up again. Should our creature encounter an obstacle, it may attempt to traverse it, or merely ignore it in favor of a different route. Either way, it will continue in this fashion, trying the best it can to cope with its environment, despite the limitations of its design. It is an automaton of a sort, its actions determined by the 'programming' of hunger, cold, fear, and other such instincts.
In essence, roboticists should limit the functionality of their machines to achieve the most consistent actions possible, then focus their efforts on how to use only those limited, but flawless actions to achieve a wanted result. An organism that succeeds at doing only a few things consistently will thrive while one that can do many things inconsistently will struggle to survive. This is the base philosophy that would form the hypothesis explored by my first robotic prototype - Paradigm Black.
Before one can walk, one must crawl. Before one can crawl, one must flail. This was the simple goal of my first prototype - to move flawlessly, consistently, and naturally. I chose to work off of the anatomy of a quadrupedal organism, seeing that if I am to create a machine that can solve the problem of walking, I should attempt to emulate the most prevalent solution that evolution has devised.
The leg's vertical movement is controlled by a single motor, rather than having a motor at each joint, which would invite unnecessary variables. With another motor in control of the horizontal movement, all the functionality needed to achieve a wide range of walking motions should be possible. Thus by making the prototype's movements a consistent certainty, I have only to program when they should move, not how.
Aesthetically, I wanted the design to showcase the movement of the leg, rather than try to replicate the literal form of an animal which may be distracting to the viewer. Using simple curved lines to highlight the back and forth swaying of the pieces that comprise its structure, the machine's movement is instantly recognizable as being relatable to that of a quadruped creature, despite looking entirely artificial in appearance. This work was displayed in Purdue's Stewart Center as part of a week-long exhibition, where it ran continuously 24/7 without any sign of wear or degradation.