Humanoid Robot Balances Itself Like You Do
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Tuesday, 28 of December , 2010 at 12:49 am
This robot (you might recognize it, it’s an HRP-2) has been programmed to NOT AVOID OBSTACLES. I know, crazy right? Instead, it’s smart enough to either move obstacles out of its way when it needs to, or actually use obstacles to help it get around, as you can see in the vid above.
The system breaks down tasks into two stages. In the first stage, software developed by Lengagne’s colleague Karim Bouyarmane identifies objects in the robot’s surroundings that it can use to help complete a task – for instance, leaning on a table with its forearms to sidle past it and into a nearby chair. The software then calculates a number of poses that the robot could strike to make best use of the table for stability while it shuffles towards the chair and sits on it. Lengagne’s software then converts these static poses into one smooth motion, taking into account the forces operating on the robot in each position to ensure it does not lose balance.
I really don’t know why New Scientist makes it sound like using obstacles to your advantage has to be an old person thing… I’m not old (okay, I’m not THAT old) and I use objects to support my weight and maintain my balance all the time. It might not be strictly necessary that I do so, but I’m super lazy and it saves me energy, so why not? For robots, being super lazy just means that they’re more energy efficient and they put less wear on their motors and joints, which is almost as important.
As I’ve pointed out before, creative compromises like this are a great way to make progress in robotics. I’m sure it’s possible (and perhaps even ideal) to make a humanoid robot that can sit at desks and kick soccer balls without any form of support, but why bother? Humans are so capable because we know how to efficiently adapt ourselves to our surroundings, and robots are getting better at doing the same.
VIA [ New Scientist ]
Comments (1)
Category: Research
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Comment by Joey1058
Made Thursday, 30 of December , 2010 at 12:15 pm
“Humans are so capable because we know how to efficiently adapt ourselves to our surroundings, and robots are getting better at doing the same.”
Exactly. They’re getting to be more human.
