Ant Boy 機械人運輸車 by Mikhail Chistiakov is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award 銅獎 in 機械人設計 Competition Category.

銅機械人· 2022

Ant Boy 機械人運輸車

by Mikhail Chistiakov

Client: Ant Robotics

A' Design Award 銅獎 Winner in 機械人 Category

24,234

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #140212

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Ant Boy 機械人運輸車

全自主 Ant Boy 係一個用於生產物料自動運送嘅先進解決方案。兼容現有基礎設施，呢個機械人可以輕易整合到運送工作流程中。外觀上，呢個機械人好似一隻小動物，帶有溫和友善嘅性格。呢種效果係透過流暢嘅車身表面、燈光通訊系統，以及形似面孔咁排列嘅鏡頭同激光雷達嚟實現。因此，呢個機械人已經社會化，能夠同人類團隊一齊協作。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 銅獎

Ant Boy 機械人運輸車是 A' Design Award 銅獎得主，這是授予以創造力、獨創性和敏銳見長的傑出設計的極具聲望的認可。銅獎得主是技藝嫻熟、創意驚人的作品，印證了其設計師豐富的經驗、想像力與機智。預計Ant Boy 機械人運輸車將成為一件備受推崇、令人欽佩且被珍愛的物品，兼具顯著的專業性與創新性。這件贏得 A' Design Award 銅獎的設計融入藝術、科學、設計和技術領域的最佳實踐，並因注重細節而出類拔萃。Ant Boy 機械人運輸車出色地滿足需求，觸動渴望，迷住情感，並吸引好奇心。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: The robot was designed to deliver materials and other goods on demand at factories and production facilities. It is a ready-made solution for small and medium-sized assembly and manufacturing enterprises. The robot has been specially designed for complex, dynamic production environments. Fully autonomous, can be called and redirected when and where needed. Using the same infrastructure (trolleys, tracks) like people, the robot integrates easily and works in a team with humans. Therefore, there is no need to replace the existing inventory of pallets and pallet jacks.
Dimensions & Packaging: 660 mm x 660 mm x 375 mm.
Tags: Robot, Cute, Ant, Transporter, Autonomous
Production Technology: The case is made of polycorbane and mounted on an aluminum frame. The upper part of the frame is open in order to mount various attachments on it.
Two motor wheels with variable ground clearance are used for movement. For stability, there are also auxiliary 4 wheels. Batteries are used as an energy source.
Design Challenge: An important aspect was the social integration of the robot. Since he has to work among people, helping workers in routine operations, it was necessary to make him friendly, responsive and even cute.
The robot's wheels are masked by several inflows of shape that seem similar to legs. The location of the cameras and lidars resemble a face. Side luminous side stripes that serve for indication and communication. Thus, all these details make the robot look like a living being.
Research: During the development, there were several serious challenges: technical, technological, and also related to machine vision technologies. But apart from that, an important aspect was the social integration of the robot.
Inspiration: Ants have long been known as outstanding weightlifters of the animal world. The abilities of different species may differ, but some can lift a load whose mass is from 10 to 50 times the body weight.
Like an ant, Ant Boy is able to move much more than its weight. And like an ant, the robot works thriftily and diligently moving loads.
Project Duration: The project started in May 2021 in Saint Petersburg and finished in October 2021 in Chicago.
Operation Flow: The robot moves autonomously, using lidars and cameras and sensors to avoid obstacles. Various interfaces are mounted on the upper platform for connection with different types of trolley. Completely autonomously grabs the cart, carries it along the route and unloads it. It can work in real conditions, including limited spaces.
In normal use, the robot drives to the dock and charges without the need for human intervention. In the upper part there is access to the inner window for changing the battery.
The side illumination is used to communicate with the robot, it conveys its emotions.
Image Credits: Image #1: Mikhail Chistiakov, 2022
Image #2: Mikhail Chistiakov, 2022
Image #3: Mikhail Chistiakov, 2022
Image #4: Mikhail Chistiakov, 2022
Image #5: Mikhail Chistiakov, 2022
Video Credits: Ant Robotics, 2022