Search found 60 matches

by sven.smith4
Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 am
Forum: Sensors & Perception Systems
Topic: How do tactile arrays hold up to repeated impact during falls?
Replies: 17
Views: 392

Re: How do tactile arrays hold up to repeated impact during falls?

<t>I dealt with almost this exact situation.

Latency between a perceived event (like a slip) and a corrective control response matters enormously for balance - even 50-100ms of extra perception latency can be the difference between a smooth recovery and a fall, which is part of why a lot of ...
by sven.smith4
Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 am
Forum: Power Systems & Thermal Management
Topic: Anyone using phase-change materials for actuator thermal buffering?
Replies: 23
Views: 266

Re: Anyone using phase-change materials for actuator thermal buffering?

<t>@samuel.campbell8 Yeah, this tracks with what I've read as well.

The average humanoid in 2026 carries under 2.5 kWh of battery capacity, with real-world runtimes clustering between two and four hours depending on how dynamic the workload is - static, low-motion tasks stretch runtime much ...
by sven.smith4
Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 am
Forum: Power Systems & Thermal Management
Topic: Battery placement (torso vs backpack vs distributed) - tradeoffs for balance and cooling?
Replies: 25
Views: 248

Re: Battery placement (torso vs backpack vs distributed) - tradeoffs for balance and cooling?

@young56 To answer this directly: Idle/standing power draw is often surprisingly close to a meaningful fraction of active walking power draw once you account for onboard compute, sensors, and balance-holding torque - 'doing nothing' still costs real energy on a humanoid.
by sven.smith4
Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 am
Forum: Careers, Research & Academia
Topic: How do you evaluate company culture at a hardware startup before joining?
Replies: 51
Views: 899

Re: How do you evaluate company culture at a hardware startup before joining?

<t>Minor factual note:

A strong, well-documented personal project (even a modest DIY build or a solid simulation-based RL project) reportedly carries real weight in hiring for this field, partly because the field is young enough that a demonstrated hands-on track record can meaningfully ...
by sven.smith4
Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 am
Forum: Careers, Research & Academia
Topic: Anyone changed specialization mid-career (e.g. perception to controls) - how hard was it?
Replies: 32
Views: 531

Re: Anyone changed specialization mid-career (e.g. perception to controls) - how hard was it?

<t>@rossi30 This lines up with my experience.

Remote work remains genuinely limited for most hands-on humanoid hardware roles, given the need for physical access to robots and test environments, though software-only roles (simulation, perception algorithms, offline learning) increasingly do offer ...
by sven.smith4
Sat Aug 29, 2026 5:47 pm
Forum: Manipulation, Grippers & Dexterous Hands
Topic: What's the realistic timeline for reliable cluttered-bin picking at human-level speed?
Replies: 14
Views: 233

Re: What's the realistic timeline for reliable cluttered-bin picking at human-level speed?

<t>@matthew.yamamoto0 I see it a little differently.

Palm sensing gets less attention than fingertip sensing, but a lot of power grasps (holding a box, a tool handle) rely more on palm and lateral finger contact than fingertip contact, so under-sensing the palm can leave a real blind spot in ...
by sven.smith4
Fri Aug 28, 2026 9:28 pm
Forum: Actuators, Motors & Drivetrains
Topic: How much weight do wiring and connectors actually add per joint?
Replies: 22
Views: 271

Re: How much weight do wiring and connectors actually add per joint?

@samuel.adams Short answer: Reflected inertia is what a limb 'feels like' to the outside world through the gearbox - a high-ratio harmonic drive reflects a lot of the rotor's inertia back to the joint, making the limb feel stiffer and less forgiving on unexpected impacts.
by sven.smith4
Tue Aug 25, 2026 7:58 am
Forum: Careers, Research & Academia
Topic: What's the biggest skill gap you see in new grads applying to robotics roles?
Replies: 22
Views: 311

Re: What's the biggest skill gap you see in new grads applying to robotics roles?

<t>@nancy_lewi Pretty much this. One thing to add:

Active employers hiring specifically for humanoid-relevant roles span both established robotics companies (Shadow Robot, Engineered Arts, PAL Robotics) and the newer venture-funded players (Figure, 1X, Apptronik, Sanctuary AI, Boston Dynamics ...
by sven.smith4
Sat Aug 22, 2026 3:34 pm
Forum: Sensors & Perception Systems
Topic: Anyone measured real-world tactile sensor degradation over months of use?
Replies: 22
Views: 173

Re: Anyone measured real-world tactile sensor degradation over months of use?

<t>This matches what I've seen too.

LiDAR gives reliable, lighting-independent range data but is heavier, pricier, and gives sparser point clouds up close than stereo or depth cameras, which is why a lot of humanoids lean on stereo/depth cameras for near-field manipulation and reserve LiDAR (if ...
by sven.smith4
Sat Aug 22, 2026 9:24 am
Forum: Careers, Research & Academia
Topic: Anyone recommend good mentors/communities for early-career robotics engineers?
Replies: 29
Views: 371

Re: Anyone recommend good mentors/communities for early-career robotics engineers?

<t>I don't think that's quite right, for what it's worth.

Active employers hiring specifically for humanoid-relevant roles span both established robotics companies (Shadow Robot, Engineered Arts, PAL Robotics) and the newer venture-funded players (Figure, 1X, Apptronik, Sanctuary AI, Boston ...