Originally published June 26 2005
New robot can walk and run
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A recent article in TRN magazine describes a new robot, called Rabbit, that can physically run like a human. Researchers are using new methods to calculate algorithms for motion.
There are robots that can walk, run and even play soccer, after a fashion.
But humanoid robots are still a long way from working alongside humans.
Scientists have been making bipedal robots for years but have only recently begun to use mathematical models to tackle the challenge of making two-legged robots that walk and run without falling down.
Researchers from the Communications and Cybernetic Research Institute of Nantes in France and the University of Michigan have developed mathematical principals for enabling human-like running in bipedal robots, including the ability to recover balance.
The researchers' control algorithms achieve a stable running gait in a two-dimensional bipedal robot dubbed Rabbit, said Jessy Grizzle, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan.
Rabbit has a waist, two hip joints and two knees, but no upper body or feet or ankles.
This constrains the robot to walking or running in a circle.
The robot is part of an ongoing research project aimed at developing robots that can execute a wide range of locomotion tasks, including walking, walking while carrying a load, running and changing walking speeds, he said.
The researchers' running algorithm is a variation of their dynamic walking algorithm.
"With our methods, we can directly determine if a specific robot can be made to run at a desired speed or not, and if not we can suggest ways to improve the robot's design so that it can run faster or with greater stability," said Grizzle.
Both approaches are important for giving robots in the ability to walk and run like humans.
The researchers' dynamic balancing technology could be used for designing better robotic control systems now, but is not likely to be used for another two to five years, said Grizzle.
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