Jason Silver

Friday, February 18th, 2005

Robots Walk Like Humans

Cool! Robots have just seen a new evolution in walking.

Whereas all robots to date have required individual motors to move every joint in the hip, knee, ankle, foot, arms, and waste, now robots walk more like humans. They lean forward, and let gravity carry them. They place their foot in front to stop a fall, and perambulate along, learning from experience.

In fact, these robots can walk on all kinds of uneven surfaces, because they learn from their mistakes. They learn to make corrections, to not over correct, to walk carefully when it's slippery, to lift their foot higher in uneven terrain, much like a toddler learns to walk!

Is this cool or what?

This new experimental robot is in fact, aptly named "Toddler." I want one.

~Jason