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Robot Unravels the Mystery of Walking

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the ha-ha-i've-been-walking-for-years-now dept.

manchineel writes with a link to a BBC article on the lessons learned from a project in locomotive robotics. 'Runbot', as it is known, is the result of a modern technology combined with a 1930s physiology study into human locomotion. The study found that walking is largely an automatic process; we only engage our brains when we have to navigate around an obstacle or deal with rough terrain. "The basic walking steps of Runbot, which has been built by scientists co-operating across Europe, are controlled by reflex information received by peripheral sensors on the joints and feet of the robot, as well as an accelerometer which monitors the pitch of the machine. These sensors pass data on to local neural loops - the equivalent of local circuits - which analyse the information and make adjustments to the gait of the robot in real time."

3 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. Planar Walker i.e. 2D only by SnowZero · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If there's something the world probably didn't need, it's another planar walker. Of course, the researchers are probably quite honest about the limitations when applying this to full 3d walking, but all that is lost in the translation to an article and then a slashdot blurb.

  2. Cats do more or less the same thing by sokoban · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I remember from my animal physiology classes seeing experiments about how cats walk. Apparently quite a few of the nerves which control the muscles used for walking can be severed prior to the dorsal root ganglion, and when placed on a treadmill the cats will still walk just fine even though there is no signal going from the brain to the muscles themselves.

    --
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 is the magic number.
  3. Backyard ant experiment by Coward+Anonymous · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Ants have a fully autonomous walking sub-system. Here is how you find out:
    1. Arm yourself with a box cutter, straight razor, razor blade or scalpel
    2. Capture your favorite back yard ant.
    3. Cut off the ant's head. Be careful not to hurt anything else, don't smash any legs and don't crush any other body parts. If you don't get it right with the first try, try again on your next favorite ant.
    4. Discard the head as neither you nor the ant can use it anymore.
    5. Let go of the rest of the ant

    The ant should now right itself and stand as if awaiting movement instructions.
    Some fun experiments:
    1. Blow gently on the ant. It should sway in the breeze but generally remain upright.
    2. Flick (or blow harder on) the ant without smashing it so that it tumbles some distance. It will right itself and patiently await further instructions.
    3. Place the ant on a piece of paper, wait for it to right itself and then flip the paper over. The ant should stay attached to the paper.

    Ants are truly miniature engineering marvels.