{"ID":23476559,"CreatedAt":"2026-09-18T01:09:05.407443952Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-09-20T18:11:56.143995915Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19194","arxiv_id":"2609.19194","title":"AthenaZero: A low-inertia, bimanual robot for dynamic manipulation","abstract":"AthenaZero is a bimanual manipulator designed to minimize inertia without compromising control authority. By utilizing quasi-direct drive actuation and transmission remotization techniques, the system achieves an effective endpoint mass comparable to that of a human---about an order of magnitude less than conventional robot manipulators. This characteristic, combined with its inherent torque transparency, makes AthenaZero exceptionally well-suited for dynamic manipulation. We describe the methodology} that led to this design and demonstrate the robot's capabilities on three baseball-inspired tasks: throwing, catching, and batting, which showcase complex interactions on human-comparable timescales where milliseconds matter. AthenaZero was capable of throwing at speeds in excess of 30 m/s, with catching and batting at speeds in excess of 14 m/s over a short 7.3 m distance. Batting practice and a game of catch were subsequently performed in robot-to-robot and human-to-robot variations, showcasing the efficacy and adaptability of our system in tasks that require high acceleration.","short_abstract":"AthenaZero is a bimanual manipulator designed to minimize inertia without compromising control authority. By utilizing quasi-direct drive actuation and transmission remotization techniques, the system achieves an effective endpoint mass comparable to that of a human---about an order of magnitude less than conventional...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.19194","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.19194v1","authors":"[\"Andrew S. Morgan\",\"Gregory Xie\",\"Capprin Bass\",\"Rachel Thomasson\",\"Chunpeng Wang\",\"Erfan Shahriari\",\"Harrison Busa\",\"Oluwaseun Araromi\",\"Joseph Aronov\",\"Michael Burgess\",\"Velin D. Dimitrov\",\"Matthew A. Estrada\",\"Faris Hamdi\",\"Samuel Kendig\",\"Taeyoon Lee\",\"Jose Oscar Mur-Miranda\",\"Emma Sommers\",\"Paul Titchener\",\"Margaret Wang\",\"Achu Wilson\",\"Mark Yeatman\",\"Osman Dogan Yirmibesoglu\",\"Alfred A. Rizzi\",\"Annan Mozeika\",\"Nicolas Rojas\",\"Lael Odhner\"]","published":"2026-09-15T21:42:28Z","proceeding":"cs.RO","tasks":"[\"cs.RO\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}