[ad_1]
LEO the robot can handle a slackline thanks to its combination of legs and drone-type propellers.
Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser / CNET
It’s a good thing we don’t live in a sci-fi dystopia where sentient robots are out to catch us. Instead, let’s focus on the very real accomplishments of Leonardo, a bipedal robot with a unique way of getting around.
Leonardo stands for “LEgs ONboard drOne”, but you can call it LEO for short. LEO is the creation of researchers at Caltech, who were inspired in part by the way birds can flap their wings and also jump and walk with their paws. The robot is able to perform difficult movements like walking on a slackline and skateboarding.
“LEO is the first robot to use multi-articular legs and propeller thrusters to achieve good balance control,” Caltech said in a statement Wednesday. The university shared a video in which LEO shows how it blurs the lines between human-like robots and drones.
The Caltech team today published an article on the robot in the journal Science Robotics. LEO’s versatility allows it to call on its walking, flying or a combination of the two depending on the terrain and its objectives. Caltech described LEO as having a “strange balance”.
After seeing videos of Boston Dynamics harassing their own robot creations, you might wonder how LEO would react. “Because of its propellers, you can push or push LEO with a lot of force without actually knocking the robot over,” said Elena-Sorina Lupu, co-author of the article.
The researcher is already considering ways to make LEO more energy efficient by improving the design of the legs to less depend on the propellers for balance while walking. The team is also working to make him more autonomous so that he can assess his environment and decide on the best way to navigate.
The robotics team sees a possible future for this technology on Mars, where it could represent a new generation of rotorcraft. The concept would build on the success of NASA Ingenuity Helicopter. Imagine ingenuity with legs, able to land safely on rough terrain. LEO, the interplanetary explorer? It could happen.
[ad_2]
Source link