Actuator Daddy
The after-hours twin of Verros Robotics.
Same Artus actuators. 230 N·m at peak. No chill.
Meet Daddy.
By day he's Tarun Malarvasan: founder of Verros Robotics, three-time ISEF grand award winner, builder of humanoid actuators in San Francisco.
After hours, he answers to something else.
The song puts it on him every time it says his name.
Verros by day.
Calm. Grey. Foggy. Polite. Motor, gearbox and driver in one unit, and sentences like “full specifications publish with preorders.”
Flip the switch up top to see what Daddy looks like at the office.
Stripped for the weigh-in.
Scroll to take him apart. Everything here follows the Verros spec sheet except the gearbox, which is a secret, so ours is an illustration.
- Output flangeWhere the load goes.
- Front plate16 bolts. Same as the logo.
- GearboxZero backlash. No slop, no talking back. The real one is classified.
- RotorA ring of magnets that goes round when told.
- MotorDriven further than a motor this size has gone before. That glow is copper working.
- DriverHis own, built into the housing. Power and comms in, motion out.
- HousingFinned, anodized, built by hand in San Francisco.
Tale of the tape.
| Spec | Little DaddyArtus I | DaddyArtus II | Big DaddyArtus III |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak torque | 51 N·m | 113 N·m | 230 N·m |
| Rated torque | 16 N·m | 45 N·m | 79 N·m |
| Rated speed | 158 rpm | 122 rpm | 89 rpm |
| No-load speed | 224 rpm | 163 rpm | 120 rpm |
| Size | Ø80 × 60 mm | Ø95 × 60 mm | Ø125 × 80 mm |
Point at a fighter and he spins up at his real no-load speed, slowed down so you can see it.
Take that load.
Peak torque is a sprint. Copper heats with the square of the current, so Big Daddy holds 230 N·m only until his windings hit their limit. Hold the button, push him, and let go before 155 °C.
- Torque
- 0 N·m
- Windings
- 40 °C
- At peak
- 0.00 s
Press and hold, or hold the space bar.
A simulation, for fun: I²R heating, a class F insulation limit of 155 °C, and Artus III peak and rated torque from Verros. Verros hasn't published thermal data.
Every joint deserves a daddy.
Hips, knees, shoulders, elbows. One actuator family for the robots taking on real work.
- HumanoidsHips, knees, shoulders and elbows.
- Legged robotsQuadrupeds and anything else that walks.
- Robot armsPrecise, repeatable, unbothered.
- Research platformsAlready in labs at MIT, Penn, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Berkeley and Illinois.
The little guys running along the bottom of your screen are built the same way. Get close and they'll come for you.
- Starring
- Artus I
Artus II
Artus III - Daddy
- Tarun Malarvasan
- Day job
- Verros Robotics, San Francisco
- In labs at
- MIT
Penn
Carnegie Mellon
Stanford
UC Berkeley
Illinois - Backed by
- Founders, Inc.
Onshape
Happy Valley LaunchBox
The CFO of Amazon - Anthem
- “Actuator Daddy” by jonnyremix
- Day-shift documentary
- The Verros film
No gearboxes were explained in the making of this site.