Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Hexapod Robot Has Neural Net Gait Selection
This little six-legged robot has quite a repertoire of gait styles, and, like the Gambler, knows when to walk away and knows when to run thanks to its neural net processor.
Silke Steingrube of the Bernstein Centre for Computational Neuroscience in Göttingen, Germany, and colleagues disdained inflexible walking styles. Blessing their robotic creation with triple-jointed legs with sensors, and a neural net processor that determines the best gait, the determined little hexapod robot can make the choice that leads to the best progress depending on the terrain.
(Hexapod robot walking video)
Using its raft of sensors – which detect foot-contact pressure, light, sound, heat and the robot's inclination – the robot can select the correct gait for uphill, downhill and various types of rough ground. By programming the robot to adopt the most energy-efficient gait possible, the researchers ensured it would switch gaits whenever its incline sensors were triggered. In tests, the robot taught itself 11 different walking styles. "The technique should work equally well in four-legged, six-legged or even wheeled robots," says Steingrube.It has a flight reflex, too: if a rear sensor detects, say a very high temperature, it interprets this as a threat. "The neural network generates a fast, wave-like gait that is appropriate for running away," says Steingrube.
If the robot gets into difficulty, with a foot stuck in a hole, say, a number of sensors are stimulated. This creates a large input signal, which induces an unpredictable, chaotic output from the neural network, causing it to randomly choose one of its 11 gaits. In other words, the robot cycles through its repertoire until it frees itself.
Robots walk in all kinds of ways. Take a look at this whimsically-titled article for lots of examples: Ministry of Silly (Robot) Walks.
From New Scientist.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 1/18/2010)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.' - Schachner and Zagat, 1931.
Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'
Boy Makes Biomimetic Turtle Robot
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'
Origin F1 Humanoid Robot's Facial Skin
'I could look down at that face of carefully molded synthetic rubber, tinted the exact shade of the doctor's living flesh.' - Rog Philips, 1950.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'
AI Operates An Excavator
'So far as I could see, the thing was without a directing Martian at all.'
US Army IBEX Exoskeleton Walks Troops Out Of Danger
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'
Boy Makes Biomimetic Turtle Robot
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'
Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'
Origin F1 Humanoid Robot's Facial Skin
'I could look down at that face of carefully molded synthetic rubber, tinted the exact shade of the doctor's living flesh.'
Grok And The City Fathers From 'Cities In Flight' By James Blish
'Chris, the City Fathers are not interested in your welfare; I suppose you know that. They're interested in only one thing: the survival of the city.'
Why Not Move A Warehouse District?
'Did you never see a moving house before?'
Will An AI Found A New Religion?
'You must decide how you will worship Me.'
Terraformer Industries Make Methane
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock...'
I Need An Outdoor Spherical Display
'Usually a spherical display hovered in the centre...'
Worm Disrupts Physics Simulations Undetected For A Decade
'It diverts integers of the data, the fundamental message-units, so that they no longer agree.'
