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How robots learn to hike: ETH researchers look to improve four-legged ANYmal’s mobility

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By Christoph Elhardt

ETH Zurich researchers led by Marco Hutter have developed a new control approach that enables a legged robot, called ANYmal, to move quickly and robustly over difficult terrain.

Thanks to machine learning, the robot can combine its visual perception of the environment with its sense of touch for the first time.

Steep sections on slippery ground, high steps, scree and forest trails full of roots: the path up the 1,098-​metre-high Mount Etzel at the southern end of Lake Zurich is peppered with numerous obstacles. [Read more…] about How robots learn to hike: ETH researchers look to improve four-legged ANYmal’s mobility

Virginia Tech researchers aim to give robots bio-inspired gaits

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Two years ago, Kaveh Hamed saw his son Nikaan take his first steps on his own. He watched Nikaan’s one-year-old body teeter on wobbly legs as the baby walked forward.

And he saw Nikaan’s progress: he went from crawling on his belly to standing with a sway, to the first walks, to taking off across the floor on two sure feet.

These memories make Hamed think about math, as he does when he watches his dog Telli run. When he sees her bound toward him and switch to a trot, he starts to wonder again about the ways he might impart her agility to a robot. [Read more…] about Virginia Tech researchers aim to give robots bio-inspired gaits

University of Pennsylvania’s Ghost Robotics launches Minitaur four-legged robot platform for autonomous vehicle applications

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Ghost Robotics says Minitaur four-legged robot built for highly-precise force feedback applications and movement across unknown, rough and vertical terrains 

University of Pennsylvania startup company Ghost Robotics has launched its first patent-pending direct-drive legged robot platform, Ghost Minitaur. 

Ghost Robotics specialises in the research and development legged, direct-drive or gearless and proprioceptive robotics technologies.

Founded by University of Pennsylvania PhD candidates, Avik De and Gavin Kenneally, Ghost Robotics is researching and building next-generation legged robots that are superior to wheeled and tracked autonomous vehicles in many field applications.  [Read more…] about University of Pennsylvania’s Ghost Robotics launches Minitaur four-legged robot platform for autonomous vehicle applications