Humanoid robots are still in a process of the evolution. We are trying to develop a next-generation which have safety, flexibility and multiplicity of uses. A shoulder structure is one of the keystone, because it controls arms and end effectors and it have direct contact with humans and daily life environments. We have designed new shoulder structure following the scapula-collarbone structure for a muscle-driven humanoid robot named ldquoKojirordquo (Fig. 1)[1]. We consider that the scapula-collarbone structures have the following merits, 1)wide range of movement, 2)flexible shoulder like humans, 3)safety from the driving system, 4)allowing space for a lot of parts inside the thorax. The shoulder structure is consisted of scapula, collarbone, upper-arm and thorax. We have devised the spherical shape thorax and scapula structure which realizes desired scapula motions. In this paper, we describe the design process and operation test of the shoulder structure.

We are trying to develop an innovative humanoid which learns from the structure of a human shoulder, especially the bladebone and collarbone. We consider that the bladebone-collarbone structures have the following merits, l)wide range of movement, 2)having the shoulder structure built on to the outside of the chest, allowing space for a lot of parts inside the chest, 3) flexible shoulder like humans. In contrast, it is difficult to control the shoulder structure because it have multiple degrees of freedom and extraordinary physical constraints. An aim of our research is to create a repeatable motion generation system of the bladebone-collarbone structures for real musculo-skeletal humanoid robots. In this paper, we describe the design process of the bladebone-collarbone structures for a muscle-driven humanoid robot, and the simulation system considering geometrical constraints of the structures. Then, we show a motion experiment using the shoulder structures of the humanoid, based on the simulation system we presented.

This paper presents the concepts, issues on development, and future perspectives of a novel musculoskeletal humanoid `Kotaro'. The specifications and advantages of Kotaro include muscle-driven endoskeletal structure, multiple degrees of freedom, variable physical softness, the multiple-joint spine, easily configurable muscles, distributed onbody controllers, various sorts of many sensors including eyes, ears, and whole-body tactile sensors, and so on. These characteristics would achieve a flexible body, litheness of motions, safety, and adaptability and applicability to diverse tasks which would very often appear in human's daily lives