OSU Researchers And Their Two-Legged ATRIAS Robot Go For A Stroll On The Grass
It's now quite possible that you go for your usual stroll in the park accompanied by your two-legged robot friend. Yep. A team of engineers from Oregon State University (OSU) have accomplished a remarkable feat where for the first time a robot with two legs has been made to use its locomotion abilities on an uneven outdoor terrain full of bumps. What is now being called a strong step forward towards building future running robots, the 'ATRIAS' bipedal robot's ability to take a walk in the grass (at speed 3 miles/hour), keep its balance even when hit by a rubber ball and move up and down a hill while maintaining a normal walking speed on a rough terrain is indeed commendable. The ATRIAS robot biomimics the spring-legged action found in the animal kingdom.
The robot is the size of humans and is equipped with a li-polymer battery, 6 electric motors and elastic legs. In their aim to come closer to resemble the natural human way of walking, the OSU research team brought fluidity of motion into the picture that will make the ATRIAS robot not only walk, but later run too.
ATRIAS is designed to move like a simple “spring-mass†model, a theoretical model similar to a pogo stick. Its lightweight 4-bar carbon-fiber leg mechanism is said to soften each footfall which prevents it from giving large jolts to the upper body. The legs, which act both as a suspension and a means of mechanical energy storage, are also mounted to series-elastic fiberglass springs.
In their latest update, the researchers shared that the robot was tested outside in the park on the grass and the results showed that it performed very well in a far more challenging environment than in lab and has been found to be 3x more energy efficient that its counterparts.
A safety harness on a supporting frame was used so as to prevent cost of damage from the bot's falling during the R&D phase.
Check out the following video that the team released to show their tests -
The OSU research team hopes that in near future prosthetic limbs or exoskeletons can be the possible application of their technology, which can assist people with disabilities to move freely without support. Moreover, two legged robots that can walk unassisted on rough, uneven terrains can find major applications in disaster response situations and the military.
What are your thoughts about the walking two-legged robot? Share with us in comments below.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
The robot is the size of humans and is equipped with a li-polymer battery, 6 electric motors and elastic legs. In their aim to come closer to resemble the natural human way of walking, the OSU research team brought fluidity of motion into the picture that will make the ATRIAS robot not only walk, but later run too.
ATRIAS is designed to move like a simple “spring-mass†model, a theoretical model similar to a pogo stick. Its lightweight 4-bar carbon-fiber leg mechanism is said to soften each footfall which prevents it from giving large jolts to the upper body. The legs, which act both as a suspension and a means of mechanical energy storage, are also mounted to series-elastic fiberglass springs.
In their latest update, the researchers shared that the robot was tested outside in the park on the grass and the results showed that it performed very well in a far more challenging environment than in lab and has been found to be 3x more energy efficient that its counterparts.
A safety harness on a supporting frame was used so as to prevent cost of damage from the bot's falling during the R&D phase.
Check out the following video that the team released to show their tests -
The OSU research team hopes that in near future prosthetic limbs or exoskeletons can be the possible application of their technology, which can assist people with disabilities to move freely without support. Moreover, two legged robots that can walk unassisted on rough, uneven terrains can find major applications in disaster response situations and the military.
What are your thoughts about the walking two-legged robot? Share with us in comments below.
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#
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