{"id":23926,"date":"2026-10-13T05:02:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T05:02:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=23926"},"modified":"2026-10-13T05:02:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T05:02:33","slug":"ucla-phonebot-gives-old-smartphones-a-second-life-as-walking-robot-companions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?p=23926","title":{"rendered":"UCLA PhoneBot Gives Old Smartphones a Second Life as Walking Robot Companions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/12204105\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot.jpg\" alt=\"UCLA PhoneBot Smartphone Robot\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\"\/><br \/><span><strong>Photo credit<\/strong>: Ruochen Hou et al. \/ RoMeLa, UCLA \/ New Atlas<\/span><br \/>Old Android phones sitting unused in drawers can now serve as the central brains for a compact walking robot that stands about nineteen inches tall and weighs under four pounds. Researchers at UCLA\u2019s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory built PhoneBot as an open-source platform that mounts a commodity smartphone as the torso, relying on the phone\u2019s camera, motion sensors, processor, and wireless connection to handle vision, balance sensing, and movement calculations. Hardware costs for the body, motors, and supporting electronics run around four hundred dollars, leaving the phone itself as the main variable. The design deliberately keeps electronics simple so that swapping one phone for another requires no rewiring.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-261372\"\/><br \/><iframe title=\"Your Old Phone Can Run a Walking Robot (PhoneBot, the $400 Open-Source Humanoid)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5JEjOt5MCAE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><noscript><iframe title=\"Your Old Phone Can Run a Walking Robot (PhoneBot, the $400 Open-Source Humanoid)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5JEjOt5MCAE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript><br \/>\nPhoneBot employs a total of 13 low-cost DYNAMIXEL servo motors, six in each leg, plus an extra joint that allows the upper body to spin. The leg architecture is traditional bipedal, with joints at the hip, knee, and ankle, allowing the robot to walk, turn, and recover. The torso joint is handy for the mounted phone when the camera needs to swing from side to side while the feet remain stationary, such as tracking a person without having to move the feet. The onboard computer is a small device in the lower body that takes commands from the phone over Wi-Fi and then determines how to translate those commands into motor positions. This wireless link eliminates the need for the phone to be directly linked to the hardware, making construction and replacement easier. Four different Android devices were tested, including a 2017 Honor 9 and a pair of relatively inexpensive off-the-shelf models priced between $50 and $80. All four handled the primary walking control, motion detection, and basic vision duties, however the elder Honor lacked the Google services required for onboard mapping.<\/p>\n<div class=\"aawp\">\n<div class=\"aawp-product aawp-product--horizontal aawp-product--ribbon aawp-product--sale\" data-aawp-product-asin=\"B0FWV8G59C\" data-aawp-product-id=\"264194\" data-aawp-tracking-id=\"tec02e-20\" data-aawp-product-title=\"Motorola Moto g - 2026 | Unlocked | Made for US 4\/128GB | 50MP Camera | Pantone Cattleya Orchid\">\n<p>    <span class=\"aawp-product__ribbon aawp-product__ribbon--sale\">Sale<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"aawp-product__thumb\">\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aawp-product__image\" src=\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41KfBr6rDwL._SL160_.jpg\" alt=\"Motorola Moto g - 2026 | Unlocked | Made for US 4\/128GB | 50MP Camera | Pantone Cattleya Orchid\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"aawp-product__content\">\n<p>            Motorola Moto g &#8211; 2026 | Unlocked | Made for US 4\/128GB | 50MP Camera | Pantone Cattleya Orchid        <\/p>\n<div class=\"aawp-product__description\">\n<ul>\n<li>Universal unlocked. Compatible with all major U.S. carriers, including Verizon, AT&amp;T, T-Mobile and other prepaid carriers.<\/li>\n<li>Super-bright, super-smooth 6.7&#8243; display. See your screen clearly even outdoors in sunlight, and enjoy seamless views with a fast-refreshing 120Hz&#8230;<\/li>\n<li>AI-powered camera system. Take stunning photos in any light with the 50MP camera**, look your best with a 32MP selfie cam*****, and capture extreme&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThe neural network handles all movement. They trained it entirely in simulation using reinforcement learning, with the virtual robot receiving rewards for remaining upright, walking on one foot, then the other, and maintaining speed. On the other side, they penalized it for high torque, shrieking the brakes, and putting all of its weight on one foot. This is because real-life motors have limited strength and speed, therefore they included those restrictions in the simulation.They discovered that some of the early training outcomes were somewhat uneven, with one foot doing the majority of the work. By introducing some mirrored samples that switched the left and right sides, they achieved a more even stride, less fluctuation between runs, and more even load distribution. The same regulations allow the physical bot to walk in any direction on level floors at speeds of up to half a meter per second, as well as push itself upright if it falls.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/12210050\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot-1.jpg\" alt=\"UCLA PhoneBot Smartphone Robot\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1280\"\/><br \/>The Android application on the phone makes all decisions in real time. TensorFlow Lite executes the walking and recovery procedures approximately fifty times per second, using data from the phone\u2019s internal sensors. It also uses the camera to track people and determine their positions, though on supported devices it may also perform visual mapping for telepresence and shooting. At the moment, we\u2019re still running speech recognition and language processing on a nearby laptop connected via the network, but if the models improve, we may be able to move that to the phone itself in the future.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.techeblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/12210105\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot-2.jpg\" alt=\"UCLA PhoneBot Smartphone Robot\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1280\"\/><br \/>There are a few things PhoneBot cannot accomplish currently. It has no arms, thus it cannot pick up or carry objects. They only tested it on flat ground, so stairs, slopes, and uneven surfaces remain a work in progress. Because of the limited motor power, it can only carry a given amount of weight and move at a specific speed. Many of the conversational capabilities must still be run on a separate laptop, but they believe this will be possible as technology advances. Meanwhile, the totally open hardware and software are available to anyone interested in working with bipedal robots, including students, research labs, hobbyists, and those who do not want to invest in pricey specialized gear or sensors.<br \/><span>[Source]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> UCLA PhoneBot Gives Old Smartphones a Second Life as Walking Robot Companions<br \/>\n<br \/>#UCLA #PhoneBot #Smartphones #Life #Walking #Robot #Companions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photo credit: Ruochen Hou et al. \/ RoMeLa, UCLA \/ New AtlasOld Android phones sitting&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[11181,874,14632,305,2801,14631,8498],"class_list":["post-23926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech","tag-companions","tag-life","tag-phonebot","tag-robot","tag-smartphones","tag-ucla","tag-walking"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot.jpg",960,640,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot-768x512.jpg",640,427,true],"large":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot.jpg",640,427,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot.jpg",960,640,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot.jpg",960,640,false],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot.jpg",960,640,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/news678.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ucla-phonebot-smartphone-robot-540x340.jpg",540,340,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/news678.top\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/news678.top\/?cat=8\" rel=\"category\">Tech<\/a>","tag_info":"Tech","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/23927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news678.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}