Robotics & Automation News

Where Innovation Meets Imagination

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Artificial muscles propel a robotic leg to walk and jump

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Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems have developed a robotic leg with artificial muscles. Inspired by living creatures, it jumps across different terrains in an agile and energy-efficient manner.

Inventors and researchers have been developing robots for almost 70 years. To date, all the machines they have built – whether for factories or elsewhere – have had one thing in common: they are powered by motors, a technology that is already 200 years old.

Even walking robots feature arms and legs that are powered by motors, not by muscles as in humans and animals. This in part suggests why they lack the mobility and adaptability of living creatures.

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Robot Era’s humanoid robot walks on Great Wall of China

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Robot Era, a Chinese humanoid robot developer, became the first company to put a humanoid robot through a walking test on the Great Wall of China.

In a video released yesterday by Robot Era, XBot-L, a full-sized humanoid prototype standing 1.65 meters tall, is seen walking along sections of the Great Wall, waving hello, practicing shadowboxing and performing other movements.

Robot Era took the machine out to showcase its locomotion, dexterity and self-balancing capabilities, in particular, its adaptability to a complex outdoor environment on the Great Wall. [Read more…] about Robot Era’s humanoid robot walks on Great Wall of China

ANYmal can do parkour and walk across rubble

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The quadrupedal robot ANYmal went back to school and has learned a lot. ETH Zurich researchers used machine learning to teach it new skills: the robot can now climb over obstacles and successfully negotiate pitfalls.

ANYmal has for some time had no problem coping with the stony terrain of Swiss hiking trails.

Now researchers at ETH Zurich have taught this quadrupedal robot some new skills: it is proving rather adept at parkour, a sport based on using athletic manoeuvres to smoothly negotiate obstacles in an urban environment, which has become very popular.

ANYmal is also proficient at dealing with the tricky terrain commonly found on building sites or in disaster areas. [Read more…] about ANYmal can do parkour and walk across rubble

Hyundai walking car concept for the ‘first responder’ industry

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Any first responder will tell you that the first 72 hours following a natural disaster are the most crucial to saving lives.

However, often times due to the nature of the disaster (forest fire, earthquake, hurricane, or flood), it can be difficult for search-and-rescue and humanitarian aid missions to reach and get immediate help to those in need.

The need for efficient, rapid, resilient transportation for disaster assistance is what led Hyundai to develop the first-ever vehicle with moveable legs.

[Read more…] about Hyundai walking car concept for the ‘first responder’ industry