Engineers at the Computer Robotics Design and Manufacturing Lab at EPFL have developed a canine-inspired robot that can move using the energy of inertia. Message about it seen on the university website.
The robot is a walking platform with four limbs. The machine has electric drives necessary to start moving. After reaching a certain speed, the power is turned off and the robot continues to move the limbs due to inertia and counterweight. EPFL engineer Mikael Achkar was inspired by the anatomy and biomechanics of dogs to create the robot.
“We found a lot of dog movement data and it was even available as open source!” Achkar said. said.
The scientist stated that it was not originally intended to create an autonomously moving robot. This feature was discovered when Achkar began testing his first prototype on the treadmill.
“At first we thought it was an accident. Then we changed the design a bit and realized that the robot was no longer working,” said Achkar.
The engineer added that the motors that power the robot can also be used to jump over obstacles and jump.
Previously at the South Korean Institute of Technology created first humanoid robot pilot.