Jun 18, 2010

`Achilles`, a New Parallel-Linked Leg Set for KRS-2552HV will be put on the market (June 5-6th, 2010)

CRAFT HOUSE introduced and announced at the 6th KHR Anniversary on June 5-6th, 2010 that `Achilles`, a New Parallel-Linked Leg set will be put on the market in the end of June, 2010. Achilles is leg set just for KRS-2552HV servo by KONDO CO., LTD. KRS-2552HV is new servo with high torque developed for KHR-3HV. The new leg set is consisted of just parts, excluded servo and control board.

`Achilles` was put on the market on June 30th, 2010.

CRAFT HOUSE has been putting Mercury, a parallel-linked leg set for KRS-4000 series servo by KONDO on the market since January, 2009. Mercury is highly regarded by robot builder.



It was proved that the parallel-linked mechanism of leg was suitable for robot fight in all class robots. Therefore, the parallel-linked robot leg is popular among robot builders in Japan recently.

Feature of Achilles are as follows
1) Achilles is leg parts set using parallel-linked mechanism for KRS-2500 Series servo produced by KONDO CO., LTD.
2) The parallel-linked mechanism of Achilles makes robot body move with stability.
3) Changeable leg size depended on the custom-built robot structure
4) Achilles is just leg parts set, so robot builder can make another robot using their surplus servo and parts with the new set.
5) Achilles seems to be suitable for the leg of light class custom-built robots.
6) Achilles also seems to be suitable for the leg of KHR-3HV or YDH2500.
7) Price: 21,000 Yen (excluding tax)

Demonstration of Achilles, New Parallel-Linked Leg attached to KHR-3HV is as follows;




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Jun 13, 2010

The 6th KHR Anniversary (Part 6) The 21st KONDO CUP ( June 6, 2010 )

The 6th KHR Anniversary, Robot competition, sponsored by KONDO KAGAKU CO.,LTD took place at ASAKUSA ROX3 on June 5-6th, 2010. The 21st KONDO CUP Robot Soccer Game took place on June 6th, 2010.

KONDO CUP, Robot Soccer Game started on June 5th, 2006. Almost every 2 month held games. There are two class, one is KHR Class which KHR-series robot such as KHR-1, 1HV, 2HV, 3HV can attend the games. KHR robots changed 4 and less than 4 high-torque servos also attend the KHR class game. The other class, Open Class in which robots using just KONDO servo motor can attend the game and using of number of high-torque servo is not limited.

The first half time of the game is 5 minutes, the break time 1 min and the second half is 5 mins. One team is consisted with 3 or four robots.  Just 3 robots can play soccer in the field. The soccer field of open class is larger than that of KHR class. The regulation of robot body and rules of soccer are described in the KONDO’ s web site.

Five teams as Speed☆Stars, SKY, TOKOTOKO&Metallic-3-Brothers, Team Robotoma and Trinity joined the Open Class. Preliminary league game was carried out and final tournament was arranged by the order of league place. The final match, Trinity vs Speed☆Stars was carried out. The winner was Trinity. Sakura-2gou, the goal keeper of Trinity, her play of throwing in was worthy of our attention. The result was described here.





Eight teams joined the KHR Class. Eight teams were divided into 2 leagues. A-league teams were Mistakes, Kanto-Branch, RFC-Bamboo-Bridge and RFC Autumnleaf. B-league teams were The University of Electro-Communications Robomecha-Koubou, Nihon Kogakuin College of Hachioji, Kibougaoka NFC and private team.  Each league had a league game and each the 1st place had a final game. The 1st place of A-league was RFC-Bamboo-Bridge and the B-league was Kibougaoka NFC. The winner of final game was Kibougaoka NFC. The result was described here.




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Jun 12, 2010

The 6th KHR Anniversary (Part 5) KONDO Dance Contest (June 6, 2010)

The 6th KHR Anniversary, Robot competition, sponsored by KONDO KAGAKU CO.,LTD took place at ASAKUSA ROX3 on June 5-6th, 2010.

KONDO Dance Contest took place on June 6th. This dance contest was the second one in Japan. The 1st dance contest was carried out as the 6th ROBO-ONE GATE IN INTERNATIONAL ROBOT EXHIBITION 2009 Dance Competition sponsored by ROBO-ONE entertainment exclusive office during INTERNATIONAL ROBOT EXHIBITION 2009 in Tokypo Big Sight on Nov. 28th, 2009.


Four robot groups joined the contest. There was no regulation except for biped robot. The dance contest took place by each robot dancing with each ordered song within 5 mins. After dancing, judges voted. The robot gotten the most points was winner. The champion of the KONDO Dance Contest was Myanoi by Dr. GIY who was famous for Manoi Dancing.

Dance of White Myanoi and Blue Myanoi by Dr. GIY

Dance of Ginkaku(Manoi PF01) by Narimono-senshu

Dance of Strong Machine(based YDH2500) by Shimano

Dance of White Myanoi and Doara by Dr. GIY

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Jun 11, 2010

The 6th KHR Anniversary (Part 4) The 5th Autonomous Robot Beach Flag Competition ( June 5, 2010 )

The 6th KHR Anniversary, Robot competition, sponsored by KONDO KAGAKU CO.,LTD took place at ASAKUSA ROX3 on June 5-6th, 2010. The 5th Autonomous Robot Beach Flag Competition took place on June 5th, 2010.

The first competition was held in the 4th KHR Anniversary on June 7, 2008. Robot Beach Flag game is similar to human's one. Two robots start from each opposite side and push down the pole sat in the center within 3 mins. The robot push down the pole at first gets point. Each game has 2 round. The game is carried out in the soccer court that of KONDO CUP KHR Class. The pole (beach flag) attached 40 kHz ultra sonic wave sender is sat in the center circle.

As radio control is prohibited, all robots have to move autonomously. Just robots KHR series based KHR-1, KHR-2HV, KHR-1HV or KHR-3HV can join the competition. Exchange of 5 servo motor to high torque one such as KRS-2350HV, KRS-4013HV or KRS-4014 is permitted (Exchange to KRS-2552HV is free). There are two classes, one is Student Class and the other is Expert Class.

The robot joins the Student Class has to use RCB-1, RCB-3HV, RCB-3J, RCB-4HV, MP1 (Motion Processor-1), MP-2 (Motion Precessor-2) as the main control board and KCB-1 as the sensor control board.

The robot joins Expert Class has no limitation concerning the main sensor board and the sensor control board. For the Expert Class, a obstacle sets in the court.

It is necessary for winning the competition to reproduce motions accurately. Robot has to push down the pole at first in each game. Pushing down at first is the most important to win the match. Robot with the best record is not always the winner.

Three robots joined Student Class and the Champion was YSE_beachboy by Suzuki. Six robots joined Expert Class and the Champion was SevortZZ by Tokai University Robocup Soccer Project Team.

Expert Class Final, SevortZZ by TOKAI University Robo Cup Soccer Project vs KAIT-β by KANAGAWA INSTITUTE TECHNOLOGY. The best record was 18.13 seconds by SevortZZ.



Exhibition match of Student Class Champion and Expert Class took place. The winner was the Student Class Champion, YSE_beachboy. The best record was 12.13 seconds by YSE_beachboy.

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Jun 10, 2010

The 6th KHR Anniversary (Part 3) The 5th KONDO BATTLE (June 5, 2010)

The 6th KHR Anniversary, Robot competition, sponsored by KONDO KAGAKU CO.,LTD took place at ASAKUSA ROX3 on June 5-6th, 2010. The 5th KONDO BATTLE took place on June 5th.

The 5th KONDO BATTLE had two tournaments which were Light Open Class and Light KHR Class. The Light Open Class winner could get a right to join the 19th ROBO-ONE tournament.

Light Open Class
Participant robots are
1) KHR series robot as KHR-1, KHR-2HV, KHR-1HV and KHR-3HV with KONDO optional parts.
In the case of KHR series robot with KONDO parts, there are no regulation concerning height and weight. In the case of using custom-made parts, the body regulation change to 2).
2) KHR series robot with custom-made parts or custom-built robot.
There are regulations concerning height, weight and arm length.

The common regulation of 1) and 2)
【Servo motor】High torque servos are prohibited
・KRS-2500HV series :Free
・KRS-700   series :Free
KRS-2300  series :Prohibited
KRS-4000HV series :Prohibited except for KRS-4024SHV
KRS-6000HV series :Prohibited
・ROS-3101HV series :Free
【Sole】
・Bathtub-sole S-01/02 : Free(Surface of grip is free)
・Custom-made sole size are 115 mm x 61 mm or under. See the figure1.
【Minimum axis】
・16

Regulation of 1) KHR series robot with KONDO optional parts
・In the case of KHR series robot with KONDO optional parts, there are no regulation concerning height and weight.
・Outer cover is free.
Regulation of 2) KHR series robot with custom-made parts or custom-built robot
・Weight: 1.5 kg or under
・Height: 35 cm or under, excluding antenna
・Flame: Free
・Arm length is 120 % that of leg or under. See Figure2.

Light KHR Class
Participant robot is KHR series robots as KHR-1, KHR-2HV, KHR-1HV and KHR-3HV.
Light KHR Class Regulation
Just kit body of KHR-1・KHR-1HV・KHR-2HV・KHR-3HV can join the competition.

Eighteen Robots joined the Light Open Class and 12 robots joined the Light KHR Class tournament. The winner of Light Open Class was Saiga (Igaa) and Light KHR Class was Karuma(Kaka ). Igaa got the right to join the 19th ROBO-ONE tournament which would take place in next Spring.

Videos of Light Open Class are as follows;
Light Open Class Semifinal; Saiga vs Mesa-Core. The winner was Saiga.

Light Open Class Semifinal; Kogaroo vs Ideon. The winner was Kogaroo.

Light Open Class Final; Saiga vs Kogaroo. The winner was Saiga.

Videos of Light Open Class are as follows;
Light KHR Class Semifinal; Kagemusha-Kun vs Karuma. The winner was Karuma.

Light KHR CLass Semifinal; Yutarobo-Mk Ⅱvs GANGA. The winner was GANGA.

Light KHR Class Final; Karuma vs GANGA. The winner was Karuma.

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Jun 9, 2010

The 6th KHR Anniversary (Part 2) Multi-Legged Robot Contest (June 5, 2010)

The 6th KHR Anniversary, Robot competition, sponsored by KONDO KAGAKU CO.,LTD took place at ASAKUSA ROX3 on June 5-6th, 2010. The 1st Multi-Legged Robot Contest took place on June 5th.

Multi-legged robot has been being miner robot compared with biped robot in Japan. Just G-DOG , a kit of 4 legs robot, was on the market from HIP JAPAN in July 2008. Recently, robot builders who has been making custom-built biped robot are interested in making multi-legged robot.

Multi-legged robot is stable to walk compared with biped robot and even low powered servo motor can move the body. It is not so hard for biped robot builders to make a new multi-legged robot. Biped robot builders also have a lot of idle controller, servos, arms and parts.

Bishii (Asakusa-giken) and Tanaka (Dainihon-giken) announced on Dec 4th, 2009 that they began to make multi-legged robots for robot survival game with toy gun and sensor for detecting the impact, which were controlled using image monitor as`Remo`. The movement of making the multi-legged robot began from this announce.

ROBOSPOT (KONDO KAGAKU CO., LTD) held an information exchange meeting about multi-legged robot on Jan 23rd, 2010. Some robot builders joined the meeting and exchanged the opinion. And the presentation was also carried out. My new robots with 5 legs, BT-L5 and BT-L15 videos were also introduce. After the meeting, ROBOSPOT (KONDO KAGAKU CO., LTD) announced a plan of competition with multi-legged robots.

The main regulation of the contest was as follows;
1) Multi-legged robot except for biped robot, but single foot robot can join.
2) Using of wheel is prohibited.

Four multi-legged robots joined the contest. The Champion of the 1st Multi-Legged Robot Contest was my robot, BLACK TIGER L45. Demonstration within 2 mins of each robot was as follows.

No301. BLACK TIGER L45 by IKETOMU
Anomalous 5-Legged Robot, using high powered servo KRS-4013HV. BT-L45 has 16 axes, each leg consisted of 3 servos and one body axis. The body axis makes the robot turn up from upside down.


No302. Makugun by Azusa-san
Six-Legged Robot with KCB-3WL and camera system.

No303. Metameta by Morinaga-san
Eight-Legged Robot, jointed with 4 Metallic Fighters for the 21st KONDO CUP Open Class.

No304. ISOKO RESCUE
Six-Legged Robot, with flat body for rescue work.

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Jun 8, 2010

The 6th KHR Anniversary at ASAKUSA ROX3 in Tokyo (Part 1) (June 5-6, 2010)

The 6th KHR Anniversary, Robot competition, sponsored by KONDO KAGAKU CO.,LTD took place at ASAKUSA ROX3 on June 5-6th, 2010.

KHR-1, the first biped hobby robot developed by KONDO KAGAKU CO., LTD, was put on the market in June 2004. KHR 1st Anniversary took place on July 3rd in 2005. Since KHR Anniversary holds every year for KHR users.

In the 6th Anniversary, competitions took place on June 5th were the 5th KONDO BATTLE (Light Open Class and Light KHR Class), Autonomous Beach Flag Competition (Student Class and Expert Class) and Multi-Legged Robot Contest. The 21st KONDO CUP SOCCER (KHR Class and Open Class) and Dance Contest took place on June 6th. The 6th KHR Anniversary was shown on Ustream KONDO site for 2 days.

Competitions were carried out at ASAKUSA ROX3 in Tokyo. The main stage was prepared for the 5th KONDO BATTLE and Multi-Legged Robot Contest. For Autonomous Beach Flag competition, soccer court of the KONDO CUP KHR Class was prepared in the right hand. The scene before opening ceremony on June 5th was as follows.

In the behind seats of main stage on June 5th, participants are preparing and adjusting motion of robots for their competition. Some robots of competitors were as follows:

The 2nd day, the main stage was changed to soccer court of KHR Class and the court for Beach Flag competition was changed to soccer court of KONDO CUP Open Class. There were also some booths of KONDO and robot related company. The scene before competitions on June 6th was as follows.

The commemorative photo of the 1st day robots attended for the 5th KONDO BATLE, Beach Flag Competition and Multi-Legged Robot Contest
The commemorative photo of the 2nd day robots attended for the 21st KONDO CUP and Robot Dance Contest
After the 1st day events, party for players and stuffs of KONDO also took place at `WATAMI` a Japanese pub in Asakusa. Attendants exchanged their opinion and information about hobby robots. The details of each competition will be uploaded in another my blog page.

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