As Professor Ichiro Kato of Waseda University in Japan, a robotics expert, once said, "One of the most important characteristics a robot should possess is its walking ability." In science fiction novels and movies, robots are depicted as machines with human-like appearances, greater physical strength than humans, and the ability to be operated by humans. However, most industrial robots active in various regions are industrial robots, designed for production and designed to adapt to diverse application scenarios, resulting in a wide variety of shapes. Humanoid robots, unlike industrial robots in the general sense, are intelligent machines with human-like shapes, mobility, manipulation, perception, memory, and autonomy, capable of communicating with humans. Currently, robots in China are widely used in industries such as automobiles, construction machinery, electronics and electrical assembly, and home appliances, resulting in a series of products including arc welding robots, handling robots, and related equipment. However, humanoid robots are still a relatively new concept in China, with only a few universities involved in this field. In late 2002, the humanoid robot BHR-01 developed by Beijing Institute of Technology passed acceptance testing, representing a significant breakthrough in humanoid robot research in China. As industrial robots, the requirements for them are primarily functional, and these robots exist in the world in various forms. Humanoid robots designed to mimic humans generally resemble humans in appearance. The shell of a humanoid robot serves to make its appearance more acceptable to humans, conceal its mechanical structure and control components as much as possible, and also provide dust protection. Humanoid Robot Shell Design and Hardware/Software Platform Selection Shell Design: Humanoid robots consist of many joints. Currently, advanced humanoid robots internationally have more than 30 degrees of freedom. During movement, each joint must not interfere with the others. Shell design must be based on a thorough understanding of the overall mechanism and all degrees of freedom of the humanoid robot. Therefore, designing a humanoid robot shell is not simply about covering it with a garment-like cover. The following issues should be considered during design: (1) The humanoid robot with the shell installed should not affect its original degrees of freedom. This requires at least one shell for each degree of freedom, and sufficient space between adjacent joints with relative movement. The shell design must ensure it fits as closely as possible to the original components. (2) Minimize the weight of the shell. The weight of humanoid robots is closely related to their smoothness and freedom of movement. Regardless of the design of the mechanism or the selection of materials, robot research institutions in various countries have tried to reduce the weight of humanoid robots in order to further expand the range of robot movements. Therefore, when designing the robot shell, under the premise of ensuring the connection between the shell and the body, the lighter materials should be selected as much as possible. (3) Under the premise of ensuring the function, the shell design should be aesthetically pleasing. (4) Easy to disassemble and assemble. (5) Consider the processing cost. Software and hardware platform selection Software - INVENTOR Autodesk Inventor software is a three-dimensional visualization solid simulation software launched by Autodesk in the United States at the end of 1999. The latest version INVENTOR 10 has been released. The laboratory uses INVENTOR 6. From the initial sketch to the final engineering drawing, Inventor provides designers with all the tools needed to execute project design[3]. It includes various features such as three-dimensional modeling, information management, collaborative work and technical support. Autodesk Inventor allows for the creation of 3D models and 2D manufacturing drawings, the creation of adaptive features, parts, and sub-assemblies, and the management of thousands of parts and large assemblies. Its "connect to the network" tools enable collaborative work among team members, facilitating data sharing and communication of design concepts among colleagues. Compared to other similar products, Inventor represents a breakthrough in user interface simplicity, 3D computation speed, and shading capabilities. Built on the ACIS 3D solid simulation core, it allows designers to quickly and easily obtain a realistic feel for parts and assemblies, thus shortening the time between the user's design intent and the system's response, minimizing the impact on the designer's creativity and expression. Inventor is the first to use adaptive technology in 3D simulation and assembly, allowing parts and their features to automatically adapt to other parts, ensuring a perfect fit. Since the shell design is based on the original robot structure, choosing Inventor software allows for maximum utilization of these strengths. For projects where mechanism design and shell design are not simultaneous or by the same designer, it significantly reduces the workload of the shell designer. Hardware – IBM IntelliStation M Pro 6218 Graphics Workstation In late 2005 and early 2006, with the advent of the Intel i955X chipset and new processors, IBM, as usual, upgraded its IntelliStation personal graphics workstation product line. Among them, the IBM IntelliStation M Pro 6218 series personal graphics workstations adopted the Intel i955X chipset and the new 6xxx and 9xxx Pentium 4 processors, not only achieving a significant performance boost but also possessing a series of new features, making it the first choice for component-level and entry-level personal graphics workstations. New Platform, New Performance The IBM IntelliStation M Pro 6218 Series The M Pro 6218 series is a new type of personal graphics workstation launched by IBM based on the new Intel i955X chipset. Based on the new chipset and processor, and with flexible combinations of processors, memory, and professional graphics cards, the performance and functionality of the M Pro 6218 series are greatly enhanced, capable of handling tasks of varying complexity, from component design to complex part design. The configuration of the M Pro 6218 used by the author is shown in Table 1. Design Process The shell of a humanoid robot can be divided into five parts: head, torso, upper limbs, lower limbs and feet. Each part can be divided into several components according to its degree of freedom. For example, the upper limb shell has 7 degrees of freedom except for the hand. Its shell is mainly composed of shoulder shell, upper arm shell, elbow joint shell, forearm shell and wrist joint shell. For each shell, the overall design is carried out first, and then individual shells that are not easy to process are separated according to the process requirements and installation connection. The following is an example of the design of the humanoid robot head shell, which introduces the general steps of shell component design using software and hardware platform. (1) Component Derivation Parts Each component of a humanoid robot is assembled from multiple parts. Opening a component assembly drawing means opening all the parts and referenced standard parts of this component. Usually, whether opening, saving or zooming the view, the speed is very slow due to the limitations of memory and video memory. However, since the 6218 is equipped with 2GB of high-speed DDR2 677 memory, the system processing speed is greatly improved. Of course, in order to save time and system resources, the joint component drawing without relative motion can be derived into a part first, and the connection with the original can be broken. In this way, the joint component can be called as a part, which saves more design time. The specific operation is shown in Figure 1. It has been proven that without adjustment, 6218 can open the whole drawing in 1 minute. After breaking the relationship, 6218 can complete the entire operation process in 10 seconds. After processing, no matter how many parts or features a component contains, it can be called as a part on 6218, which is much faster. (2) Design the shell part using the projection tool in the assembly drawing. The shell design is for a certain part or component. The shell part has an assembly relationship with the component. In addition, considering that the shell and the body are detachable fixed connections, we chose the method of using crescent groove and nut to facilitate the disassembly and assembly of the shell and avoid the problem of exposed screws when the two are connected. Figure 2 shows the head after the shell is assembled, and Figure 3(a) shows the robot head without the shell assembled. The 6218 graphics card has been certified by INVENTOR and supports the OPENGL interface. The display effect in the system is very good. Whether it is semi-transparent, perspective, projection or current rendering, it can meet the requirements. The humanoid robot's head shell has two symmetrical side shells. The middle connecting part is composed of three arc surfaces: the head shell, the mask and the chin shell. Figure 3 shows the design process of the head shell 1 using the original head assembly parts in the assembly drawing. Due to the complex features of the equipment body and the large number of parts, the 6218 system is slightly slow after the graphics quality is adjusted to the highest, but it is still acceptable. (3) Check the overall effect and interference from the general assembly drawing. Problems in the development process of mechanical products are often concentrated in the assembly of parts and the assembly of the whole machine. The same is true for humanoid robots. By simulating the assembly and motion of the shell and the body in the computer, the overall effect of the shell can be better checked. At the same time, it is necessary to check whether the parts with the shell interfere with the motion. This process requires importing all the parts of the robot into the system. Figure 4 shows the three postures of the robot with the shell in Inventor. One of Inventor's main advantages is its rapid coloring capabilities. For any part, whether selected in the model tree or assembly drawing, you can simply pick the material and color from the toolbar to change its color. This allows for comparison of shells with different colors and materials to determine the final design. The 6218's graphics performance effectively showcases this feature. As shown in Figure 4, all model materials are very realistic and can be quickly switched between wireframe and rendering modes. Due to its advantages in memory and processor performance, the 6218 provides excellent support for Inventor's view scaling and rotation functions, allowing designers to view parts or assembly drawings from any angle. In conclusion, the design of the humanoid robot's body and shell is a massive undertaking. It fully leverages Inventor's solid modeling and collaborative features, and also fully utilizes the performance potential of the IBM M PRO 6218. For designers, this allows them to unleash their imagination without being limited by hardware and software performance or functionality; it also significantly reduces their workload and provides an excellent platform for collaborative and continuous design work.