| Issue |
MATEC Web Conf.
Volume 417, 2025
2025 RAPDASA-RobMech-PRASA-AMI Conference: Bridging the Gap between Industry & Academia - The 26th Annual International RAPDASA Conference, joined by RobMech, PRASA and AMI, co-hosted by CSIR and Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria
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| Article Number | 04025 | |
| Number of page(s) | 14 | |
| Section | Robotics and Mechatronics | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202541704025 | |
| Published online | 25 November 2025 | |
The design of a humanoid robotic research platform
Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
* William Duckitt: wdduckitt@sun.ac.za
A novel humanoid robotic research platform is presented with a total of 38 degrees of freedom (DOF), incorporating EtherCAT for real-time control, GPU-based high-performance computing for vision, motion tracking and inference, and large language model (LLM) reasoning for voice-based interaction. Building on a torso, two 6-DOF arms, and five-finger hands, the system demonstrates robust manipulation, intuitive voice commands, and extensibility toward bipedal locomotion. Preliminary tests demonstrate stable real-time performance, reliable AI-driven dialogue, and dexterous end-effector function for up to 1 kg loads. This platform aims to serve as a foundation for future research in humanoid robotics.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2025
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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