Four-legged, dog-inspired quadruped robots have already proven capable of a variety of tasks, from remotely monitoring sports stadiums and guiding blind persons to inspecting potentially hazardous research areas. These robots are generally more agile than their hulking bipedal counterparts, but they have mostly failed to match the fluid grace and athleticism of their furry canine inspirations. Now, a new wall-scaling robot is pushing the boundary of what these quadrupeds are capable of, and it’s doing so with a bit of flair.
Researchers from ETH Zurich are trying to close the mobility gap between robots and animals with a new highly-mobile robot capable of running, jumping, and crawling its way through obstacle courses.
The researchers, who published their findings in Science Robotics this week, set out to to teach ANYmal, a 100 pound quadruped robot made by the firm ANYbotics how to mimic human “freerunners” who engage in an underground sport referred to by many as “parkour.”
In a nutshell, parkour centers around getting from one point to another in the fastest way possible and often involves swiftly crawling and leaping through obstacles along the way. Parkour, which is performed on obstacle courses or even in dense urban areas, requires a combination of athleticism and rapid decision making. ANYmal was up to the task. The newly improved robot was able to complete the basic parkour course below moving at a clip of six feet per second.
How did ANYmal learn parkour?
A video of newly trained ANYmal in action shared by ETH Zurich shows the beefy red robot clambering up a small wooden staircase before leading over a small gap to land on another platform. Without breaking its stride, the robot charges forward then dives down to scramble underneath an obstacle in a motion resembling a scouring insect. ANYmal quickly pushed itself back up so it can climb…
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