"Rambling Robots Show Human Efficiency"
New Scientist (02/17/05); Knight, Will
Three robots that stride like human beings made their debut at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science on Feb. 17. The machines, which were produced by researchers at the University of Michigan, MIT, Cornell University, and Delft University in the Netherlands, amble along using simple mechanical dynamics and minimal motorization; each robot's frame and joints are configured so that they can walk without overexerting themselves. "Our robots demonstrate that utilizing the natural dynamics of the body can make robots much more efficient," said the University of Michigan's Steve Collins. The robots' designs were inspired by mechanical walking toys that automatically respond to gravity by striding down a slope, and this capability was refined to accommodate flat surfaces with the addition of a few motors. The Cornell and Delft robots boast exceptional power efficiency, consuming around the same amount of energy as the average walking human--about 10 times less than is consumed by Honda's Asimo android. The MIT bot, nicknamed "Toddler," was hailed by one robotics researcher as the most conceptually innovative of the three because it adapts to terrain via a learning algorithm. University of Michigan researcher Art Kuo noted that practical walking bots must be made capable of climbing stairs through a combination of simple dynamics and greater control.
Full Article: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7023
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