LogFAQs > #976878293

This is the hardest challenge I could come up with for myself.

I have a pipe dream of creating an animatronic rodent that looks and moves like a real animal to the point of being completely indistinguishable. I've gone through many different kinds of mechanisms, such as hydraulics and electroactive polymers, and have come to the understanding that DC motors are king.

I am very experienced with electronics/programming and will design the circuitry and motor drivers however they need to be, down to the machine learning model. I have found a quirk in DC motors that may allow me to unconventionally lower the torque of the motor on purpose through custom drivers to allow for more natural movement.

This is my issue, I need the most efficient motor to insert into the joint, of, say, the leg of a rat, and match it 1:1. I need it to be as small as possible. I have limited experience with engineering, and have found the smallest motors have very high RPM but low torque. Why is this? I need the RPM to match my target, but it seems they make these motors for drones with as high RPM as possible. Gearboxes are inefficient, noisy, and consume space. Is it the only way?