Science & Technology

New '3D walking' robot aces obstacle course

By T.K. Randall
May 7, 2016 ·  6 comments

The robot has been put through its paces. Image Credit: YouTube / University of Michigan It might not look particularly sophisticated, but the two-legged contraption revealed recently by robotic engineers at the University of Michigan is no slouch when it comes to movement.

Using special feedback control algorithms, MARLO is able to walk in three dimensions - meaning that unlike many robots it is not restricted to walking on flat two-dimensional surfaces.

Using an Xbox controller, an operator can tell the robot where to go and at what speed while the actual process of covering the terrain is left up to MARLO's own computing capabilities.So far it has been successfully demonstrated traversing steep slopes, snow-covered surfaces and even an extensive obstacle course littered with wooden boards and other objects.

"We are able to design full 3D walking gaits using a mathematical model of the robot and then apply them directly to MARLO," said electrical engineering doctoral student Brent Griffin.

"Because the implementation works without any robot-specific modifications, it is generalizable to other walking robots."


Source: Futurity.org | Comments (6)

Tags: Robot, MARLO