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Giant 'Leap' for Robotics
legoburner writes "An AFP article is reporting that Toyota has developed a robot leg that can jump like a human's, an evolution from today's stiff-jointed machines. The leg is a strange-looking standalone device and Toyota claims it will enable robots to jump about, run faster and handle unpaved roads more smoothly."
It just says article not found. The picture works though.
Bionic Arm + Bionic Leg = 1 step closer to becoming 6 Million Dollar Man
we are but one step closer to the fearsome reign of Robot Nixon.
Push Button, Receive Bacon
does it run linux?
*ducks*
welcome our ungainly one legged jumping robot overlords
Considering the required latency requirements, this thing doesn't run Linux.
Uncanny -- that looks exactly like the Slashdot 'funny' icon.
One Small Jump for a Robo; One Giant Leap for Robokind
TFA on a link that does work:
http://www.physorg.com/news77352568.html (google toyota robot leg)
The one-meter (3.3-foot) leg has a joint on its toe letting it jump as high as four centimeters (1.6 inches) by bending and stretching its toe and another knee-like joint, Japan's top automaker said Wednesday.
"This is a basic technology that can be applied to a two-legged robot in future," said a Toyota Motor Corp. spokeswoman.
"It was a difficult step for robots," she said. "But it was made possible after making a number of prototypes."
Besides the joy of jumping about, robots will also be able to run faster and to handle unpaved roads more smoothly, the company said.
Toyota, the world's number two automaker which is expected soon to surpass General Motors, has increasingly taken on robot development.
Toyota humanoids welcomed visitors to the company's pavillion at the 2005 World Expo in Japan, jamming in a brass ensemble and performing hip-hop routines.
Is there yet any robot that can actually walk? By walking, I mean walk like a human, where each step is slight fall forward, and not walk like current robots, where balance is kept at all times.
If such a robot exists, can someone please post a link?
Adventure, Romance, MAD SCIENCE!
Check out the robo-child-bearing thighs on that sexbot!
...but that thing looks like it goes, "boing! boing! boing!" in operation. :)
You can read the article here, here or here.
Robot AI Mind.Forth goes beyond mere jumping and gives a robot the smarts for thinking like a human being.
Artificial life for robots is the joint development of a sound mind in a sound body for jump-for-Joy robots.
The Joint Stewardship of Earth lets robots jump into a position of equality with human beings in running the planet Earth.
Technological Singularity by 2012 will be the Great Leap Forward in the co-evolution of intelligent humans and superintelligent robots.
JavaScript for AI describes how even a simple language like JavaScript can leap into action with tutorial artificial intelligence for amateur robot-makers.
Turing Store Books are all about the Great Leap to artificially intelligent robots.
JavaScript Mind.html is the tutorial version of the Robot AI Mind.Forth.
Anyone else found this bit funny?
"Blah blah blah." - [citation needed]
Where's the mount to put it on my boat?
i'm sorry thats just sick, that leg reminds me of that machine in robocop and a starwars stormtrooper!
With this, Marvin would have been able to jump around in circles, instead!
I have seen the Honda ASIMO videos. I have actually seen the robot LIVE on Robocup in Japan. Our humanoid booth was next to the stage where all humanoids performed.
I have NEVER seen that robot walk like a human. I have NEVER seen that robot do anything that resembles running.
Adventure, Romance, MAD SCIENCE!
I always wondered how hard it would be to build me a Mad Dog. Very hard, it would seem.
These Robot Engineers need to get the help of some anatomists when designing their robots if they want them to be like humans or animals. If they want to be like robots, then carry on (bt why not dispense with the two/four legs and go for wheels/tracks/hover cushion). A human leg, for instance is not straight.. From a point of origin in the hip, it moves medially as it decend to the knee and then progresses on to the ankle, so there should be an angle at the knee. The evolutionary purpose of that angle, is so that the centre of gravity remains over the midline during the phase where all the weight is supported by one leg and the other leg is being swung forward. Otherwise you end up with a robot that walks like Marvin from the Forbidden Planet, and an inefficient gait.
T w a t.
I for one welcome our new bouncy overlords.
.. welcome our jumping robotic overlords. It had to be said.
Robots capable of kicking ass!
At last robots can do the Pete'n'Dud unidexter sketch - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Leg_Too_Few
At last, now there is something an Aibo can properly hump. Here boy!
Put on an ugly gnome face and a great big boot and you've got yourself a Dufflepod from C.S. Lewis "Voyage of the Dawn Treader".
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
And then overbalancing and falling to the ground in a heap.
Isn't the top part supposed to be shiny metal?
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
this story doesn't have a leg to stand on.
Long ago the MIT COG robot was the state of the art humanoid robot. Since they do not update the MIT COG pages anymore, I'm not able to see if they make any progress. Does anybody know the state of the art humanoid project around?
I think its a bit ironic that it really looks like a dog or horse leg more than a humans. Maybe we should just study how animals walk, they seem more adapted to it than us anyways.
It's a major award!!!
He was good. I mean, he was really really good:
He didn't punch that Italian bastard in the face, he didn't kick him or even head-butt him in the head - he went for the most elegant solution possible under those circumstances and head-butted him in the chest. He managed to get him on the ground without bloodshed.
Zidane is pure-100%-made in France genius, and you can teach a robot all sorts of hopping tricks, but it would be impossible to get them to behave in such ingenius ways should someone cuss their mother.
..in the ass kicking contest finally gets relief!
First place winner in a robotic one legged ass kicking contest!
Looks like they took one of Asimo's legs and stuck it on one of their outboard motors. I suppose you could use this thing to free your boat if it runs a ground.
an ill wind that blows no good
Toyota must be working on a robot that will really kick some Asimo!
Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
Who will save us from these robots once the evil Dr Wily takes control?
Megaman!
(seriously, anyone else think it looks like this one?
...a one legged man in an arse kicking contest.
Looks like they got a leg up on the competition
I think at best it could "hop quickly" linux... now a pair of robotic legs hooked up through a robotic crotch could run linux .-.-. -.- .--- ...-.-
Ok, she's got a nice leg there, but look at that BEEHIND! Damn! Baby!
... But with all the great anime and cartoons from Japan featuring giant robots, I think they might make it a reality some day. How freakin' awesome would it be to come to work some day and see in the headlines that Japan built a 50' tall robot for their national defense? A Voltron force maybe? Screw the idea of getting on the horn with G.W. and the U.N. when North Korea test fires missiles in your general direction, just land a Gundam on the lawn of their capital building to get your message across! The Pilot, Prince Hisahito greets them with: "How are you Gentlemen" "All Your Base are Belong to Us!"
"The irony when tending a flock of sheep is the dogs you put in place to protect them are genetically mutated wolves"
In an ass kicking contest it wouldn't stand a chance.
Did you see the big box thingy on top of the robot leg? If you put two of those legs together you'll have a huge robot butt on your hands.
"I fight for Xev!"
"sweet dreams are made of this..."
So now not only can I hope for a high number of miles per gallon out of a new Prius, I can also hope for lots of vertical feet per gallon.
Ceci n'est pas une signature.
yeah, but is this project any good for next quarters's revenue?
no? cut it off and layoff the staff. any savings should be chanelled into my bonus. Now, about the yatch..
That thing looks like my grandad's old outboard motor.. whith a polished stormtrooper finish.
We were somewhere around Barstow on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold. - HST
While I see the advantage of bipedal robots I can't help but think we may be going to wrong direction. Four or even six legs are far more stable and efficient. I'd like to see more work on centaur-like robots in the house. This type of design would allow them to interact in normal human ways but also carry much more. Not only that, kids could ride the robots around! Or maybe even bear-like robots that can stand upright and walk around when needed but drop to all fours when going long distances or carrying large heavy loads.
Thermal depolymerization - Lazy recycling.
that jumping will require advances there, too.
If it were done when 'tis done, then t'were well it were done quickly... MacBeth
What you're looking at is a one-legged hopper. Locomotion researchers find it useful to work on one-legged hoppers because the system is simple enough to be analyzed analytically.
The new feature of this leg seems to be that it has three active joints with sufficient power behind them for jumping. Most legged robots, such as the BDI Big Dog, only have two active joints in the leg, although some have a weak or passive ankle. This is enough to position the leg to any point in the working envelope, and it's not obvious what a third joint buys you. ASIMO has an "ankle", but it's used only to align the foot with the ground, not for active running; ASIMO runs flat-footed, not on the ball of the foot. This Toyota machine seems to have both an ankle and a toe joint.
This is a big win, as I described back in 1995 in my "Why Legs have Three Joints" paper. With three joints involved in running and jumping, you gain control over the force vector for ground contact, which allows slip control. Also, the hip joint (which is usually the most powerful) can be used more effectively; the lower joints position the leg so that the hip muscles can do most of the work. For humans, this is subtle, because the ankle-toe distance is small. It's much clearer for horses, where the hind leg has three sections of roughly equal length.
Now I'm going to have nighmares about Darth Vader's puppy.
And we have instant Karakasas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakasa
ELOI, ELOI, LAMA SABACHTHANI!?