The startup claims to be the first of its kind around the world to challenge an electrically driven robot to repeat moves made famous by Atlas

Silicon Valley, Jan. 22, 2024 -- MagicLab, a general-purpose robot startup, has launched what it says is the world's first electrically powered humanoid robot that is capable of doing front flips like the acrobatic Atlas from Boston Dynamics.

Traditionally, bipedal humanoid robots face enormous difficulties in performing stunts like front flip, back flip and somersault due to limitations in the device's power output and self-balancing abilities.

In response, MagicLab, which was up and running last year, came up with self-built motor joints and actuators to overcome these constraints, making aerial maneuvers or jumping twists no longer restricted to only hydraulic robots like Atlas.

"The reason we can make the electrically driven robot do somersaults is due to our new joint motor design, which enables the robot to maintain its stability while flipping its body in the air," MagicLab says in a statement.

The company equips its first-generation humanoid model with multiple proprietary D190 joint motor modules, featuring a rated output torque of 150Nm and a peak torque of over 525Nm.

These modules generate a 100A electric current and are matched with drive systems and actuators designed specially for acrobatic maneuvers.

This hardware combination allows the robot to handle transient voltage surges and plunges resulting from a back electromotive force. The robot also derives unprecedented dynamics and high-precision manipulation thanks to this design, MagicLab says.

As another highlight, the firm strategically concentrated the bulk of the robot's weight toward the intersection of its thighs and hips.

This structure causes much less inertia when the robot swings its legs. It not just ensures dynamic stability, allowing the robot to rapidly shift its center of gravity while leaping and vaulting, but also improves its agility and controllability in action.

MagicLab believes its first-ever humanoid robot not just rivals the performance of advanced hydraulic robots, but also possesses clear advantages.

With the scrapping of expensive hydraulic fluids and the convoluted tubing to channel the fluids, electrically driven humanoids are less costly to build and maintain, and tend to be more compact and lighter.

Besides, an electric drive system is less energy-intensive than a hydraulic variant, which also poses the risk of fluid leaks and environmental pollution in the event of damages to the robot, MagicLab says.

The firm perceives its model as more than just a proof-of-concept or prototype. According to plans, it will ideally be deployed to a range of scenarios, including search and rescue, since it's dexterous enough to navigate obstacles to reach the needy in complex terrains .

Other applications include sports and entertainment as well as industrial automation, logistics and transportation, with an aim to bolster work efficiency and relieve human workload.

"Currently, we have yet to unleash the full potential of the robot's joints with just the front flip," MagicLab says in a statement. "The joint module still has more than a third of kinematic redundancy, meaning there is room to improve in overall motion control."

The startup aims to showcase the robot's agility by teaching it to perform advanced acrobatic moves such as single-leg jumps, back flips and aerial cartwheels, while maintaining its balance.