Tom Atwood Robot magazine interview:

ATOM-7xp advanced humanoid robot project

On its 25th anniversary in 2010 as a robotics components supplier FutureBots is introducing the ATOM-7xp robot. Future-Bot Components president and CEO Dan Mathias reports that this humanoid robot project has been eight years in development and although nearing a milestone in terms of its mechanical assembly, is still a work in progress. The goal is for ATOM-7xp to be able to walk, talk and understand speech and it reportedly will have an advanced stereo vision system to "take on real world problems." It will serve as a telepresence robot but will also be equipped with levels of autonomous control.

ATOM, which stands for “Advanced Technology for Optimizing Motion”, is the brainchild of Mathias, an electrical/mechanical/software engineer who in a prior incarnation spent years working as a high reliability parts engineer at Solitron Devices. He has a 4-year Technical Engineering degree in Industrial Electronics and Robotics from N.T.E.C. and is pursuing his BS in Electrical engineering. First inspired in his youth by the robots in Lost in Space and Starwars, Mathias says he has been building robots since he was 10 years old.

The initial stages of ATOM's development have focused on its mechanical engineering, but much thought has gone into the design of the fully integrated system. ATOM's vision and motion processing is done by two Intel Atom dual core processors using a mixture of Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows XP. ATOM's many advanced humanoid features reportedly include independently articulated toe segments and a midsection stomach motion system that assist with standing and balance control. The bot has articulated motion in the head, neck, eyes, eyebrows and mouth so "it can be very friendly looking and, like humans, it will be able to respond with facial expressions." Atom’s machine intelligence is said to include elements of fuzzy logic.

ATOM has “independently articulated fingers with touch feedback.” Mathias notes that the robot project is in the "baby walking stages" with more walking features being brought online as each subsystem is proven to function as it was designed to. ATOM, which includes a Garmen GPS unit, is being built to take on a variety of dangerous jobs like building structures in outer space, rescuing people from burning buildings and assisting victims in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Mathias thinks the robot will also serve as a helper and companion in nursing homes.

"This project is in its first stages of testing and development and I will be looking for financial investors to take it to the next level for production," he continues. "ATOM was designed and built on a budget compared to the other great walking robots out there in the world. I was designer, builder and programmer for the project with some hand and body prototyping help from my brother Jack, a machinist and graphic designer. Yet I could do so much more if I had a budget like those at the large commercial companies or universities that have made a name in robotics.

Mathias notes that there is more to his motivation than just pioneering the design of a large humanoid robot. "One of my main reasons for building ATOM, and many other of my robots, is to inspire a new generation of young engineering minds to design and build robots—and have fun.