Engineered Arts' humanoid robots are used worldwide for

social interaction, communication and entertainment at

public exhibitions and attractions, as well as university
research labs.

I made my first robot when I was 12-years-old, it was a thing

with two wheels and it scuttled off underneath the bed with a
felt pen and coloured the carpet purple.Will built his first computer
when he was thirteen, which was quickly turned to robotic projects.
After graduating from the University of Brighton with a BA(Bachelor of Arts) in
3D design

The seventeen major axis are all controlled using a custom written PID
algorithm that features optimisations for air muscle control and adapts in
real time to cope with cross axis dependencies, ie the load and dynamics of
the upper arm vary according to the position of the fore arm and hand.

• P accounts for present values of the error. For example, if the error
is large and positive, the control output will also be large and
positive.
• I accounts for past values of the error. For example, if the current
output is not sufficiently strong, error will accumulate over time,
and the controller will respond by applying a stronger action.
D accounts for possible future values of the error, based on its
current rate of change.
The RoboThespian is now in its third generation, with more than six years
of continuous development and improvement. Our core piece of software,
(running on PC not Propeller), is called IOServe it runs under Linux and
provides a generic way to link and program all robot hardware, it also has
the ability to capture motion data and replay it and modify existing motion
sequences on the fly, including an interface to the open source 3D program
Blender where you can create virtual robots to control real hardware. This
will be a powerful tool for any robot builder.

Now in its third generation, with more than six years of

continuous development, RoboThespian is a tried-and-tested
platform, trusted by national science centres, visitor
attractions, commercial users and academic research
institutions around the world.

1st G
However, it soon became obvious that this was too much of a
one-way relationship - the audience wanted to interact.

We developed and produced a set of hardware modules for the

control of valves and motors which integrated seamlessly with
the control software, and significantly we introduced internet
connectivity.

2nd G
It was love at first sight - and we were encouraged to introduce
'intelligence' into the system. Our audience frequently wanted
to shake RoboThespian™ by the hand, and to make him
perform their own routines.
With this in mind, in November 2007 we started on new
hardware features which included additional axis in the arms,
articulated hands and feedback sensors on all movement axis.

4th G
Success. Including major installations for The Eden Project in Cornwall,
Glasgow Science Centre, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Centrum Kopernik in
Warsaw.
Now, we are ready to take the next step – quite literally!