Four-Legged Robot Can 'Ninja Walk' Across Narrow Bridges
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A team of engineers created a four-legged robot called HyQ, and it "ninja walks" on two legs across narrow bridges, according to a video published Friday on YouTube.
RELATED: THIS AWESOME FOUR-LEGGED ROBOT DOES BACKFLIPS AT MIT
Four-legged robot's 'ninja walk' with only two legs
Weighing 90 kilograms (198.4 pounds), this "ninja" robot can balance itself on a support line and recover from minor slip-ups and shakes. Using a balance controller, the robot adapts to changes in posture, including varying heights achieved via adjusting the angle of its legs' joints.
To walk across narrow, 6-centimeter (2.3-inch) bridges of up to 1.5 meters (4.9 feet), the robot does a "ninja" walk — using a motion generator to walk the narrow line with fantastic precision.
New balance controller gives robot ninja skills
At the heart of this futuristic feat is a new balance controller designed for legged robots. It uses point feet, which — since smaller foot areas require more balance to walk without falling — creates serious challenges for not only the robots themselves, but the engineers who have to think their way around a constrained environment with math, metal, and silicon.
"We present a balance controller that has the potential to achieve line walking for quadruped robots. Our initial experiments show the 90-kg robot HyQ balancing on two feet and recovering from external pushes, as well as some changes in posture achieved without losing balance," said a designing Istituto Italiano Di Tecnologia team representative, in a report from the journal IEEE Spectrum.
We've seen robots climbing obstacle-ridden stairs like action heroes, pull micro-influencers on rickshaws, and even robots performing backflips, but walking the proverbial tightrope like a ninja is a must-see for robot enthusiasts. One wonders what's in store for the future of robotic motion.
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