iRonCub 3: The Jet-Powered Flying Humanoid Robot

2025-06-01

AI Summary

Jet-powered full-scale humanoid robots present unique challenges in flight control, state estimation, and system integration due to their high dynamics, strong body coupling, and non-conventional morphology. To address these, this work proposes an integrated technical framework: (1) a lightweight jet propulsion system; (2) a model predictive control (MPC)-based whole-body dynamics controller; (3) a multi-sensor fusion state estimator; (4) a real-time simulation and hardware-in-the-loop validation platform; and (5) safety protocols for high-risk outdoor experimentation. Key contributions include: the world’s first autonomous takeoff of a jet-powered humanoid robot; stable takeoff and precise trajectory tracking demonstrated in both simulation and hardware experiments; and the establishment of the first dedicated, high-safety outdoor test facility specifically designed for humanoid flight research—meeting stringent operational and safety requirements for aerial humanoid experimentation.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: State Estimation
• Humans and AI: Planning and Decision Support for Human-Machine Teams
• Natural Language Processing: Safety and Robustness

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Applied ML and AI for Web-based mobile applications
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems

Abstract

This article presents iRonCub 3, a jet-powered humanoid robot, and its first flight experiments. Unlike traditional aerial vehicles, iRonCub 3 aims to achieve flight using a full-body humanoid form, which poses unique challenges in control, estimation, and system integration. We highlight the robot's current mechanical and software architecture, including its propulsion system, control framework, and experimental infrastructure. The control and estimation framework is first validated in simulation by performing a takeoff and tracking a reference trajectory. Then, we demonstrate, for the first time, a liftoff of a jet-powered humanoid robot - an initial but significant step toward aerial humanoid mobility. Also, we detail how the experimental area around a jet-powered humanoid robot should be designed in order to deal with a level of complexity that is substantially superior than indoor humanoid robot experiments.

Problem

• Achieving flight with a full-body humanoid robot
• Addressing unique control and estimation challenges
• Designing experimental infrastructure for jet-powered humanoids

Innovation

• Jet-powered full-body humanoid flight system
• Advanced control and estimation framework
• Specialized experimental area for jet propulsion