Engineered Arts, manufacturer of the RoboThespian humanoid robot, has been awarded the manus award in recognition of its use of polymer bearings on the model.
Polymer bearings expert igus presented the award to the company, which uses iglidur bearings on all rotating shafts to enable its movements and gestures to be more fluid and friction-free, giving a convincing and human-like performance.
The RoboThespian is a life-sized robott designed for human interaction in public places.
Being fully interactive, multilingual and user-friendly, users can set it up for educational, business or theatrical performances simply by writing their own scripts via computer.
Marcus Hold, who is design & production engineer at Engineered Arts, said the company has a strong relationship with partner igus.
“The products are of excellent quality and are reliable which is of the utmost importance to us, as our humanoid robots are required to perform daily without fail in busy public environments,” he said.
“The impact of the iglidur bearings on RoboThespian’s performance is just as important – without igus, he wouldn’t be able to move in the smooth way he does today,” he added.
The robots are deployed around the world in locations such as visitor attractions, and subjected to continuous daily use, as well as live TV and event appearances, with over 40 RoboThespians now installed in 14 countries globally.