The German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) has built what is being called a robotic ape that is inspired by biology and can move rather effectively.
Connected with a project called “iStruct,” it can move while on four limbs or stand up on its hind legs.
“The point of this project is to design intelligent structures (like actuated spines) that fuse sensors, actuators and control systems into structural subunits,” according to a report from Spectrum.ieee.org. “The robot itself is a test platform for these intelligent structures.”
The robot has better mobility because of a “more natural foot shape that touches the ground in several ways,” according to a news report from The Verge. Two hind feet touch the ground at three different points: at the heel and under two large toes. The hands can brace the robot’s body while it’s moving. Also, each foot and hand has various sensors. Some sensors show how the robot is moving or is aligned. Other sensors prevent the robot from making missteps or collide into something. There are also temperature and acceleration sensors.
“By carefully integrating basic, non-moving parts into the rest of the robot's system…the robot as a whole will be able to move better,” the report adds.
iStruct was funded by the German Aerospace Center. Also working on the project were researchers from the University of Bremen.
Researchers have been testing the robot as it walks and balances on a simulated lunar landscape – which suggests it could be used in outer space, maybe even on a future lunar mission, GizMag.com said.
