We recently started working on a humanoid robotics project called SamuRoid. The main goal is to explore how an affordable humanoid robot platform can be used for embodied AI experiments, robotics education, and ROS development.

Most humanoid robots today are either research-grade systems that cost tens of thousands of dollars, or simple toy robots that are difficult to extend. With Samuroid, we are trying to build something in between — a capable but accessible humanoid robot platform for developers, students, and robotics enthusiasts.

The robot is built around a Raspberry Pi 4B running Ubuntu 18.04 and ROS Melodic. Using the ROS framework allows us to integrate different modules such as motion control, machine vision, and AI interaction in a standardized way.

Mechanically, the robot uses a 22-DOF humanoid structure including head, arms, legs, and feet joints. High-torque serial bus servos (≥30kgf.cm) are used to drive the joints, enabling complex humanoid movements such as walking, waving, dancing, and kicking a ball.

Currently we are testing several locomotion algorithms based on inverse kinematics and inverted pendulum control. A built-in MPU6050 IMU helps the robot maintain stability during walking.

For perception, SamuRoid integrates a 1080P wide-angle camera combined with OpenCV-based computer vision algorithms. We are experimenting with several AI vision capabilities including:

- face recognition  
- color recognition  
- QR code detection  
- object tracking  
- autonomous ball tracking and kicking

Another interesting direction we are exploring is multimodal AI interaction. By connecting the robot to large language model APIs such as DeepSeek and Doubao, the robot can understand voice commands and perform actions through natural language interaction.

The robot also includes a voice input system with a microphone and speaker for real-time audio interaction.

Because the platform runs ROS and supports Python and C++ development, it is also suitable for robotics education, AI experimentation, and developer research projects.

We are still refining the motion control and expanding the AI interaction capabilities.

If anyone in the Hackaday community is interested in humanoid robotics, embodied AI, or ROS-based robot platforms, we would love to hear your ideas and suggestions.

More technical information and development resources about the Samuroid robot platform can be found here:

https://www.xiaorgeek.net/products/samuroid-ai-humanoid-robot-with-raspberry-pi-integrated-multimodal-ai-model-large-language-models-vision-interactive-voice-based-ros-xiaorgeek