two-legged robot

[roro]

Kind of Segway replacement?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060426/tc_nm/japan_robot_dc

Rob

[Stan671]

Two-legged walkers are attractive because they look like us. But two-legged walking is VERY complicated because there is the extreme balance aspect of it. Obviously the forward-backward balance is essential and also part of the movement process, but the side-to-side balance is also important. The side-to-side balance is harder to compensate for because the legs need to be able to move outward to the side as well as just forwards/backwards. Without arms, or something like that to use as counterweights, not all tilt situations can be countered with just leg movements. I think it will be a while before a 2-legged walking machine will be practical.

On the other hand, I am very impressed by the Army's work on a 4-legged walking cargo droid called Big Dog.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/generaltechnology/4793358d355d9010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html (http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/generaltechnology/4793358d355d9010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html)

Check out the video. Four legs are much more stable than two.

[citivolus]

It seems like a very hard way to make a very tall iBot. I don't doubt Dean has something like this locked up in his archives.

Good video Stan.

[Desert_Seg]

Stan,

I've always admired Boston Dynamics (www.bostondynamics.com), the maker of the Big Dog, and their forward thinking process. The Big Dog is just one example of what they do....some just as cool stuff is Little Dog and RiSe (a so cool mini-bot). The stuff that Boston Dynamics does will greatly enhance the survivability of our police and military folks.

Anway, back on the thread, the two legged robot is, as you say, very complicated and from tests I've read about not deployable within the five years they talk about in the article. It is much more than technical features that is keeping it out of the general populace, it is also the acceptance due to inherent safety features.

Now the Big Dog, on the other hand, could easily be modified to change its footprint to a smaller size and it could then assume the role the two legged version wants to adopt.

BTW, what's interesting about the Boston Dynamics technology is that is has been licensed by Sony for use in its Robots. Although they don't mention Asimo (their lifesize robot) by name, they do have a picture of it on the BD website. I wonder if the two legged version is also using the BD technology?

Steven