Close X
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
ADVT 
Tech

MIT engineers overcome doubters to design a cheetah robot that can run, jump on battery power

Darpan News Desk, Canadian Press, 01 Dec, 2014 03:21 PM
  • MIT engineers overcome doubters to design a cheetah robot that can run, jump on battery power

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — It's a robot unlike any other: inspired by the world's fastest land animal, controlled by video game technology and packing nifty sensors — including one used to manoeuvr drones, satellites and ballistic missiles.

The robot, called the cheetah, can run on batteries at speeds of more than 10 mph, jump about 16 inches high, land safely and continue galloping for at least 15 minutes — all while using less power than a microwave oven.

It's the creation of researchers at the Massachusetts of Technology, who had to design key elements from scratch because of a lack of or shortcomings in existing technology.

That includes powerful, lightweight motors; electronics that control power for its 12 motors; and an algorithm that determines the amount of force a leg should exert during the split second that it spends on the ground while running — the key to helping the robot maintain balance and forward momentum. An onboard computer organizes data from various sensors and sends commands to each motor.

"This is kind of a Ferrari in the robotics world, like, we have to put all the expensive components and make it really that instinctive," said MIT professor Sangbae Kim, who leads the school's Biomimetic Robotics Lab that designed the robot. "That's the only way to get that speed."

Insight gleaned from the design of their prototype could have real-world applications, including the design of revolutionary prosthetics, wearable technologies, all-terrain wheelchairs and vehicles that can travel efficiently in rough terrain much like animals do, Kim said. There are hopes the robot will be able to be used in search and rescue operations in hazardous or hostile environments where it's too risky to send a human rescuer.

"When the robot is running, at every step, we calculate the appropriate amount of the force to the legs so that the robot can balance itself," said MIT research scientist Hae-Won Park, who wrote the complex algorithm used to control the cheetah, which weighs around 70 pounds — about the same as one of its female feline counterparts.

Sensors inside the robot measure the angle of the leg and that information is sent to an onboard computer that also organizes data from the Inertial Measurement Unit, or IMU, which is also used to manoeuvr drones and ballistic missiles, Park said.

The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Defence'sDefence Advanced Research Projects Agency. The military research arm is also funding a similar robot being developed by Boston Dynamics. The company says its version is powered by an off-board hydraulic pump and uses a boom-like device to keep it running in the centre of the treadmill.

Crafting the cheetah robot took five years of designing, testing, tweaking and plenty of confidence to ignore those who said electric motors aren't strong enough to propel a running mechanical cheetah powered by batteries.

Researchers had to exercise a lot of patience during test runs. The robot broke dozens of legs manufactured by 3-D printers and reinforced with Kevlar strips and carbon fiber.

The results?

Strong, lightweight components that made untethered running possible, including a carbon fiber-and-foam sandwich frame that can absorb the forces generated by running and jumping.

Some off-the-shelf components, including an Xbox controller for manoeuvring the robot and wireless Internet communications for sending commands to the mechanical cheetah, also came in handy.

Each leg is propelled by three motors that can generate powerful forces at slow speeds.

Still, researchers continue to tweak their prototype, looking to add additional sensors that would eventually make the robot autonomous.

"In the next 10 years, our goal is we are trying to make this robot to save a life," Kim said.

MORE Tech ARTICLES

Twitter analysis reveals how weather affects mood

Twitter analysis reveals how weather affects mood
We know that the weather has a profound physiological and psychological impact on us. Now, researchers at the Stanford University have analysed...

Twitter analysis reveals how weather affects mood

Canadians' Time Online Doubles As Mobile Devices, Video Streaming Eat Up Hours

Canadians' Time Online Doubles As Mobile Devices, Video Streaming Eat Up Hours
TORONTO — As Canadians continue to get hooked on their smartphones, tablets and streaming video they're almost doubling the amount of time they spend online, according to measurement firm comScore.

Canadians' Time Online Doubles As Mobile Devices, Video Streaming Eat Up Hours

India, Australia to conclude several agreements during Modi visit

India, Australia to conclude several agreements during Modi visit
Fixing up timelines for concluding negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement, exchange of sentenced prisoners, cooperation on narcotics control and...

India, Australia to conclude several agreements during Modi visit

Coming soon: The tiniest battery in the world

Coming soon: The tiniest battery in the world
Researchers in the US have invented a battery that is so small that a billon of them could be crammed into a space the size of a postage stamp....

Coming soon: The tiniest battery in the world

Google signs 60-year lease with NASA

Google signs 60-year lease with NASA
In a bid to reduce costs and shed surplus property, the US space agency has signed a 60-year lease with Planetary Ventures LLC - a shell organisation operated....

Google signs 60-year lease with NASA

Pilot's wireless devices can be hacked, endanger flight

Pilot's wireless devices can be hacked, endanger flight
 Apps and wireless devices which private airline pilots use while flying are vulnerable to a wide range of security attacks....

Pilot's wireless devices can be hacked, endanger flight