maxon Story
Reachy 2: The Open-Source Humanoid Robot Redefining Human-Machine Interaction
In an office in Bordeaux, the Pollen Robotics teams are working on an ambitious mission: to imagine and advance useful robotics for humans. Their flagship creation, Reachy, combines accessibility, innovation, and open-source collaboration. But first, let's go back where it all started.
Founded in 2016 by two former INRIA researchers, Matthieu Lapeyre and Pierre Rouanet, the French start-up Pollen Robotics initially focused on custom robotics projects for artistic and cultural installations.
In 2019, an event changed the game. Augustin Crampette, an engineering intern, developed a bio-inspired joint system called Orbita. This innovation, capable of imitating human articulated movements with great precision, became the basis of a more ambitious project: Reachy.
Reachy made its first public appearance at the 2020 CES event in Las Vegas and immediately fascinated visitors with its fluid and natural movements as well as its interactiveness.
Then, in 2022, a new challenge pushed the Pollen Robotics team even further: participation in the international robotics competition ANA Avatar XPRIZE.
Invited by the organizers, the team presented Reachy 1 for the semi-finals, and the version successfully passed the tests. However, to hope to win the final, it became necessary to improve the robot's capabilities in terms of robustness and payload.
It was then that Pollen Robotics decided to collaborate with maxon. The maxon motors were integrated into the Orbita joints, which allowed this new robotic avatar to handle heavier loads, making it eligible for the final tests. Faced with established competitors with much larger budgets and resources, Pollen Robotics stood out as a formidable outsider.
This teamwork paid off, and Pollen Robotics secured second place in the competition, with a robotic platform that would be the first iteration of the future version of Reachy, Reachy 2, launched in October 2024.
| 2016 | Founded Pollen Robotics |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Creation of Orbita |
| 2020 | Presentation of Reachy (1) at CES |
| 2022 | Participation of Reachy (1,2 with maxon integrations) in the ANA Avatar XPRIZE |
| 2024 | Launch of Reachy 2 |
Reachy 2: An Open-Source Robot for Research and Industry
Modularity Designed in Kits
Reachy is a unique humanoid robot designed to operate in various environments where human-machine interaction is essential. Versatile, intelligent, and fully modular, it is much more than just a robotic platform.
With its asymmetrical eyes and expressive antennas, it immediately garners affection. Reachy 2 was designed to adapt to a wide variety of uses thanks to its modular architecture. Users can choose from several configurations: a single arm, two arms, or even the addition of a mobile base.
The various kits available for Reachy.
A Bio-Inspired Design for Natural Interactions
Reachy's design is fascinating. Its natural expressions and gestures make it an intuitive and engaging robot, capable of integrating into social environments
Reachy fascinates with its design. Its natural expressions and gestures make it an intuitive and engaging robot, capable of integrating into social environments.
This fluidity is based on Pollen Robotics' key innovation: Orbita, the bio-inspired joint system. Orbita comes in two versions adapted to different needs.
- The first, Orbita 3D, is used for the wrists and neck. It allows harmonious and smooth movements with a wide range thanks to its three degrees of freedom.
- Conversely, Orbita 2D, integrated into the elbows and shoulders, articulates via two degrees of freedom and is designed to support loads – of up to 3 kg for our friend Reachy.
An Accessible and Versatile Platform
Reachy also stands out for its software intelligence. Equipped with a Python SDK and based on ROS 2, Reachy offers researchers and developers an open and flexible programming environment.
Since 2021, Reachy even includes a teleoperation feature – remote control – opening up fascinating prospects for difficult-to-access environments or those requiring great precision.
How does it work? With a virtual reality headset, an operator can control the robot's movements in real-time and even teach it new movements. This learning capability allows Reachy to reproduce learned gestures autonomously.
With a virtual reality headset, an operator can control the robot's movements in real-time.
An Open-Source DNA to Accelerate Innovation
The open-source approach is a central pillar of Pollen Robotics' identity. By making Reachy's plans and resources public, the company offers the global community a great opportunity to customize and enrich the platform. This choice promotes collective innovation, aligned with the goal of democratizing access to useful robotics. "This not only allows our customers to adapt Reachy to their needs but also a global community to advance the technology." – Elsa Kervella, Sales and Marketing Director at Pollen Robotics.
This collaborative philosophy allows Reachy to be part of a constantly evolving ecosystem. An example: the collaboration with Hugging Face, a reference in artificial intelligence models.
This partnership enabled the development of the learning system integrated into the robot's teleoperation. Thanks to embedded AI algorithms, Reachy can identify the motor commands necessary to accurately reproduce the actions taught by the operator.
Adoption Across All Sectors
Reachy appeals to both the academic world and industry. In prestigious institutions like EPFL or Cornell University, it is used to explore human-robot interaction and machine learning, pushing the limits of artificial intelligence in real conditions.
In industry, its modularity allows it to adapt to complex environments, whether for cobotic tasks or specific simulations.
Pollen Robotics and maxon: A Partnership to Push Reachy's Limits
A Collaboration Born from Ambitious Challenges
When Pollen Robotics sought to push Reachy's limits, the company found a solid partner in maxon. This partnership intensified over the iterations of Reachy. The teams closely collaborated to meet a challenge: adapting the components to demanding environments while respecting the robot's design and modularity constraints.
Technical Challenges Overcome Together
Integrating the motors into the Orbita joints was a significant challenge! It was necessary to reconcile performance, compactness, and reliability while respecting Reachy's humanoid design. maxon met this challenge with a series of integrations:
EC-45 Flat motors with integrated MILE encoder
EC-45 Flat motors with integrated MILE encoder
With its high torque and high efficiency, the maxon EC-Flat range features an optimized winding design and powerful magnets. Its efficient heat dissipation enables continuous operation at high performance levels. What's more, its flat design facilitates integration in confined spaces, making it ideal for a wide range of applications.
The MILE inductive encoder is the perfect complement to our EC flat motors (EC-Flat), offering high resolution and precision. This inverted-signal encoder is extremely resistant to magnetic and electric fields, as well as to dirt. It is directly integrated into the motor.
GPX32 UP Gearboxes
With an efficiency of over 90%, these gearboxes ensure smooth, efficient movements. Their robustness ensures reliable handling, even under demanding conditions.
ECX22 Torque Motors
ECX22 Torque Motors
Compact and powerful, they deliver exceptional torque density for smooth, precise movements. Their iron-core winding and multipolar design guarantee optimum energy efficiency, ideal for dynamic, real-time movements.
GPX22C Gearboxes
maxon GPX gearboxes offer exceptional power transmission in a very compact package. Their modular design makes it possible to create customized solutions for every customer. In addition, ceramic components ensure high torque capacity and long life, making them ideal for demanding applications.
ENX EASY 22mm Sensors
These robust sensors offer maximum precision and a high-quality signal, essential for fine control of complex joint movements such as wrist or neck.
The integration of maxon solutions has pushed the limits of Reachy, making it a platform as powerful as it is modular.
Integrating maxon's solutions pushed Reachy's limits, making it a platform as high-performing as it aims to be modular.
Want to learn more about Reachy or discover how maxon can support your robotics projects?
Behind every joint and every line of code lies a story rich in challenges and innovations. And this is just the beginning...
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Pollen Robotics