News
The AGH Medical Technology student research club is developing a humanoid robot named Poppy as part of a rector’s grant. One of their main objectives is to adapt the robot to assist medical staff in their day-to-day work.
The robot design is based on an open-source project, Poppy Humanoid, originally developed by a French team and is available on GitHub. As it is open-source software, its source code is publicly available, and users have the right to modify, adapt, and distribute it in accordance with the terms set out in the licence. GitHub, on the other hand, is a platform used for collaborative code development and is one of the most popular websites for hosting Git repositories in the cloud.
“We made a few minor changes to our project, adapting the new version to the resources we had available. Our design is slightly simpler compared to the project found in the French repository; however, we have focused more on adapting it to use in a medical context,” says Anna Karpierz, a club member.
Whilst working on the robot, the students modified the original design and 3D-printed the individual parts on their own printers. Although the finished Poppy Humanoid robot also has legs enabling it to move, the students are currently focusing on developing and refining the torso.
“The design allows the arms to move and replicate pre-programmed movements, enabling us to quickly implement new interactions. We also plan to expand the robot’s capabilities to include functions to monitor the patient's health,” explains Katarzyna Krupa.
The head of the humanoid robot built by the AGH University students boasts a screen that displays animated eyes. Ultimately, the students aim to incorporate more movements and additional interfaces to enable interaction, so that the robot could serve as an interactive companion.
The engineers also plan to expand the robot’s camera section. Currently, the main objectives of the students include expanding Poppy’s functionalities, optimising the work carried out so far, replacing the torso, and designing a casing that is both aesthetically pleasing and protective for the internal components.
“We plan to work on its appearance, including replacing some of the plastic parts. The current camera is integrated into the structure, but its relatively low resolution has led us to consider replacing it. We are also planning to buy a microphone,” says Anna Karpierz.
Since its launch in 2024, the project has sparked numerous discussions within the research club about the purpose of the robot. One of the original ideas was for it to serve as a companion for children in the hospital. The students also explored the possibility of using the robot to deliver medicines.
AGH Medical Technology has been active at AGH University since 2019, and its objective is to support healthcare through innovative solutions. Supervised by Dr Piotr Kijanka, associate professor at AGH University, the club is organised into several sections: construction and design, programming, electrical engineering, marketing, and project coordination. The project brings together a number of disciplines and involves students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Automatics, Computer Science, and Biomedical Engineering, the Faculty of Materials Science and Ceramics, and the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Resource Management.
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