2008-12-14

Runbot World's Fastest Robot

Clipped from: World's Fastest Robot -- Computational Neuroscientists And Engineers Build Robot That Teaches Itself To Walk Up And Down Hills

World's Fastest Robot

Computational Neuroscientists And Engineers Build Robot That Teaches Itself To Walk Up And Down Hills

December 1, 2007 — Computational neuroscientists designed a robot that teaches itself how to walk on differing terrain. The RunBot uses an infrared eye to detect slopes, and adjusts its gait for the smoothest walk. From repeated attempts it matches the degree of slope to the appropriate length of step and movement of joints. Essentially, the robot learns to walk on uneven ground in the same way as a child.
Clipped from: YouTube - The Runbot - Worlds Fastest Robot

Clipped from: BBC NEWS | Technology | Robot unravels mystery of walking

BBC News

Robot unravels mystery of walking

Roboticists are using the lessons of a 1930s human physiologist to build the world's fastest walking robot.

[...]

The basic walking steps of RunBot, which has been built by scientists co-operating across Europe, are controlled by reflex information received by peripheral sensors on the joints and feet of the robot, as well as an accelerometer which monitors the pitch of the machine.

These sensors pass data on to local neural loops - the equivalent of local circuits - which analyse the information and make adjustments to the gait of the robot in real time.

Clipped from: YouTube - Robot keeps marching with multi-level control

Robot keeps marching with multi-level control



Clipped from: Runbot

Adaptive, Fast, Dynamic Walking Robot "RunBot"

I Biomechanical level: The walker requires an appropriate biomechanical design, which may use some principles of passive walkers to assure stability.

II Spinal reflex level: Runbot needs a low-level neuronal structure (Reflexive Neuronal Controller), which creates dynamically stable gaits with some degree of self-stabilization to assure basic robustness.

III Postural reflex level: RunBot requires higher levels of neuronal control (adaptive neuronal controller), which can learn using peripheral sensing to assure flexibility of the walker in different terrains.

RunBot performance:

Comparison of the walking speed of various biped robots whose sizes, they are quite different from each other, we use the relative speed

Speed divided by the leg-length. The figure below shows the relative speed of some typical planar biped robots, RunBot, and human.



Clipped from: YouTube - Runbot running

Clipped from: Poramate Manoonpong BCCN-at MPI


Poramate Manoonpong
Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience

Related:
World's Fastest Robot -- Computational Neuroscientists And Engineers Build Robot That Teaches Itself To Walk Up And Down Hills
BBC NEWS | Technology | Robot unravels mystery of walking
Poramate Manoonpong BCCN-at MPI
Runbot
PLoS Computational Biology: Adaptive, Fast Walking in a Biped Robot under Neuronal Control and Learning
iiRobotics.com | Robot unravels mystery of walking | Robot, Said, Runbot, Walking, Leg
Speedy robot legs it to break record - tech - 05 April 2006 - New Scientist
BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Glasgow and West | Record speed set by walking robot