Specialists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) taught their robot Cheetah new tricks. Now, for example, a robot is capable of climbing and descending the stairs, as well as avoiding obstacles without having to see them in front of you with the help of its cameras. And this is only a small part of what was put into the updated Cheetah 3 model thanks to new algorithms.
Robots that can climb the stairs, of course, you will not be surprised. One should at least remember the same robot SpotMini from the company Boston Dynamics or the same Asimo, the development of which the Japanese company Honda recently decided to stop. However, they all use cameras to move around. The developers of Cheetah 3, in turn, want their robot to be able to work its way, even without seeing what is in front of it. If you rely entirely on vision, consider robotics, then the effectiveness of robots can significantly decrease in real conditions.
"What happens if the robot moves around where the cameras are useless?" What in that case should he do? That's why we endowed our robot with the ability to "blindly move." We do not want to depend very much on his view, "commented Sangbe Kim, a mechanical engineering professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who developed the robot.
In the future, this robot can be used where people can not work. For example, deep inside the nuclear power plant, where it can be used to inspect the technical condition of the facility.
"Dangerous, dirty and very complex work will be much easier with remotely controlled robots," Kim says.
However, the robot can not always see its environment. For example, robotics engineers who are trying to use robots to survey the situation inside the reactor of the Japanese nuclear power plant in Fukushima have faced the problem of video cameras coming out due to the excessively high level of radiation. Yes there cameras, the robots themselves fail under such conditions.
That's why robots from MIT decided to use Cheetah 3 new sensors and algorithms that give it a "sense" of proprioception (the feeling of one's own position in the surrounding space). In addition, the update affected and the mechanisms responsible for the flexibility of the robot. And he also received updated predictive algorithms that allow Cheetah 3 to change its gait in order to avoid falling or losing balance in any given situation.
The updated model is capable of swaying and spinning on the spot.
Climb the stairs.
Although, not always successful.
Most impressive is the new possibility of the machine - the ability to instantly "turn" due to the changing direction of the knee joints.
Another robot learned to ride on the spot.
Also has added in stability.
