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jjayzx t1_iv7nhnr wrote

Reply to comment by Any_Matter_5711 in Carnegie Mellon researchers claim they have used new AI techniques to train much cheaper robot dogs (approx $6,000 cost) to reproduce the advanced functionality of the Boston Dynamics Spot robot. by lughnasadh

Right, I'm literally printing SpotMicro right now. So the cost of these will keep dropping drastically, just like it did with quadcopters.

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dtseng123 t1_iv871jp wrote

SpotMicro isn’t very… agile. But it’s like $15 per hobby actuator and relatively a good start for people who want to get into robotics.

I think once BDLC actuators get cheaper then there will be much more adoption in the space. BDLCs cost like 200-400 per each and these dogs have 12. SpotMicro and it’s variations can be anywhere from 500-1000 while a larger DIY BD size dog with more advanced sensors and jetson nano can cost $10,000+

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jjayzx t1_iv88cs8 wrote

Can get the servos for $20 for a 4 pack and under $30 for 6, when I was checking earlier. Hoping better software or something comes along and makes them better in the mean time. If not, still something to tinker with for the time being.

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dtseng123 t1_iv88lvs wrote

Which ones are you looking it? There’s some spot micro variations too.

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jjayzx t1_ivaymav wrote

I haven't chosen the specific circuitry yet and have been just printing the body but none of the board mounts. The body is the one with reinforced shoulders, seems to be a newer build and fixes some issues.

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dtseng123 t1_ivaz00g wrote

Yea I have the one made by Adham and Maurice which actually uses ROS. Got pretty far but still stuck on debugging serial communication with the Rpi and teensy controller.

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jjayzx t1_ivb0eo1 wrote

I have rpi and esp32 sitting around, I just didn't deep dive yet to see what route I wanna go. I was just getting most of body printed for now as I still have to finish another project I've been working on.

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dtseng123 t1_ivaz20k wrote

There’s one with the ESP 32 that seems much easier to build tho

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RegulusRemains t1_ivcsxp0 wrote

Way cheaper to buy a unitree and go from there

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dtseng123 t1_ivct5nz wrote

Yea unitree is. But if you’re learning, unitree is just a shortcut.

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RegulusRemains t1_ivcxd5p wrote

Haha yeah it is. But their hardware is just so damn cheap and great quality!

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