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In this paper, we present an electrically driven childlike android named ibuki equipped with a wheeled mobility unit that enables it to move in a real environment. Since the unit includes a vertical oscillation mechanism, the android can replicate the movements of the human center of mass and can express human-like upper-body movements even when moving by wheels. Moreover, providing 46 degrees of freedom enables it to perform various human-like physical expressions. The development of ibuki, as well as the implementation and testing of several functions, is described. Finally, we discuss the potential advantages and future research direction of a childlike mobile android.

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Robots are required to be significantly compliant and versatile to work in unstructured environments. In a number of studies, robots have positively exploited the environments during interactions and completed tasks from a morphological viewpoint. Modular robots can help realize real-world adaptive robots. Researchers have been investigating the actuation, coupling, and communication mechanisms among these robots to realize versatility. However, the diverse force transmission among modules needs to be further studied to achieve the adaptive whole-body dynamics of a robot. In this study, we fabricated a modular robot and proposed the realization of force transmission on this robot, by constructing fluid transferable network systems on the actuation modules. By exploiting the physical property variations of the modular robot, our experimental results prove that the robot’s motion can be changed by switching the connection pattern of the system.

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