Nadia Humanoid Project
IHMC has developed a next generation humanoid robot called Nadia along with collaborators Boardwalk Robotics, Morfey Ltd, and H4 Labs. Nadia is designed to have have a high power-to-weight ratio and large range of motion through the use of innovative mechanisms and composite materials. Nadia is also being used to develop autonomous and semi-autonomous behaviors to allow the robot to function in urban environments and structures. The robot’s namesake is famed gymnast Nadia Comăneci, as a nod to the ultimate design goal — achieving human-range-of-motion. The development of Nadia is funded through several sources, including the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Army Research Laboratory (ARL), NASA Johnson Space Center, and TARDEC.
The Nadia project is intended to develop highly mobile ground robots that can function in indoor environments where stairs, ladders, and debris would require a robot to have the same range of motion as a human. While this has any number of applications, it can be particularly useful in firefighting, disaster response, and other scenarios that might be dangerous for humans such as Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). Given the right set of capabilities, Nadia will be able to function as a human teammate, providing the capability to extend human presence without placing someone in harm’s way.
Smart Actuators
Nadia is powered by a combination of electric and hydraulic actuators. It uses Moog’s Integrated Smart Actuators (ISAs), originally developed in collaboration with the Instituto Italiano de Technologia (IIT)’s Dynamic Legged Systems Lab for the HyQ quadruped, custom electric motors in the pelvis, and commercial off-the-shelf motors for the arms.
Range of Motion
Nadia is designed to be flexible. Across its 29 joints, it has some of the highest ranges of motion of any humanoid robot to date. This will give it the ability to reach places that are impossible to achieve with traditional robots, enabling an extreme level of mobility.