{"id":2980,"date":"2015-10-29T22:48:20","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T22:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kurzweilai.net\/?p=265609"},"modified":"2015-10-29T22:48:20","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T22:48:20","slug":"this-robot-will-out-walk-and-out-run-you-one-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoo.central12.com\/fugic\/2015\/10\/29\/this-robot-will-out-walk-and-out-run-you-one-day\/","title":{"rendered":"This robot will out-walk and out-run you one day"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A walk in the park. Oregon State University engineers have successfully field-tested their walking robot, ATRIAS. (credit: Oregon State University)<\/p><\/div>\n

Imagine robots that can walk and run like humans — or better than humans. Engineers at Oregon State University<\/a> (OSU) and Technische Universitat Munchen<\/a> may have achieved a major step in that direction with their \u201cspring-mass\u201d implementation of human and animal walking dynamics, allowing robots to maintain balance and efficiency of motion in difficult environments.<\/p>\n

Studies done with OSU’s ATRIAS robot model<\/a>, which incorporates the spring-mass theory, show that it\u2019s three times more energy-efficient than any other human-sized bipedal robots.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m confident that this is the future of legged robotic locomotion,\u201d said Jonathan Hurst<\/a>, an OSU professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Dynamic Robotics Laboratory in the OSU College of Engineering. \u201cWe\u2019ve basically demonstrated the fundamental science of how humans walk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When further refined and perfected, walking and running robots may work in the armed forces, as fire fighters, in factories or doing ordinary household chores, he said. “This could become as big as the automotive industry,\u201d Hurst added.<\/p>\n

Wearable robots and prostheses too<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aspects of the locomotion technology may also assist people with disabilities, said Daniel Renjewski<\/a> with the Technische Universitat Munchen<\/a>, the lead author on the study published in IEEE Transactions on Robotics<\/em>. \u201cRobots are already used for gait training, and we see the first commercial exoskeletons on the market,\u201d he said. \u201cThis enables us to build an entirely new class of wearable robots and prostheses that could allow the user to regain a natural walking gait.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Topology and key technical features of the ATRIAS robot. ATRIAS has six electric motors powered by a lithium polymer battery. It can take impacts and retain its balance and walk over rough and bumpy terrain. Power electronics, batteries, and control computer are located inside the trunk. (credit: Daniel Renjewski et al.\/IEEE Transactions on Robotics)<\/p><\/div>\n

In continued research, work will be done to improve steering, efficiency, leg configuration, inertial actuation, robust operation, external sensing, transmissions and actuators, and other technologies.<\/p>\n

The work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Human Frontier Science Program.<\/p>\n