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STriDER, a Three-Legged Walking Robot
Roland Piquepaille writes "In a short article, New Scientist reports that researchers at Virginia Tech University have developed a tripedal experimental robot. With its three legs, this robot, named STriDER — short for 'Self-excited Tripedal Dynamic Experimental Robot' — is actually more stable than 2- or 4-legged robots. As said another researcher, 'It's like a biped with a walking stick.' This robot is intended to deploy sensors and cameras in difficult-to-access areas."
Great, now robots will have also three legs.
What's in a sig?
Now that would be a sight!
...
But seriously, flipping 180 degrees with each step? That reduces the useful applications
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
"Self excited"?
I have a tape (yes, cassette tapes - remember those?) of a BBC Radio 4 science doc from 18 months or so ago which I taped for the bit where they interviewed Jim Bell & some other MER people, and also looked round the JPL robotics lab; they mentioned this one, and also something called ATHLETE (google it up) and another gizmo described as looking like a robotic spider with multiple articulated arms, intended for EVA work around the ISS or similar structures, whose name I forget. They were just proof-of-concept work at that stage of course, not funded or anything.
Everything I needed to know about life, I learnt from Blake's Seven
"Self-excited?" Tripod? And we're not supposed to make naughty jokes about this?
u-bend
Interesting concept, except that with the way it moves, it can't really walk in a straight line.
Because it swings one leg outward from the rear to the front, it's always going to essentially be side-stepping a width that's in direct proportion to the length of its legs. If it starts in a position like <|, with two legs up front and one in the rear, and then swings the rear leg outward to position |>, the next step has to be to the left or right sides. It could every other stuff in reverse and zig-zag for the net effect of a straight line, but it wouldn't work well for very narrow spaces unless it could dynamically adjust the height of its legs.
Nevertheless, I'd love to see one run at some point!
Some guy in our neighborhood had one of these. I never saw it. But every time it snowed, tracks made by the 3 legged robot would begin showing up. What was really clever was how he molded animal paws on the feet to improve traction.
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
How does it do under gun fire?
Our new tripod overlords. My only question, are they HG Wells-style or John Christopher-style?
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
I can't believe no-one made a joke about Half-Life 2 and the Combine's Striders.
I wonder if Gordon is in on this project?
I'm curious what kind of practical applications this would have. As another poster mentioned, the robot flips every time it takes a step. This would probably make it difficult to have the power source in the central module connecting the legs as it would be too heavy (unless it was perfectly balanced, which might be a bigger issue).
JOURNALIST: Quickly, one after the other, four of the Fighting Machines appeared. Monstrous tripods, higher than the tallest steeple, striding over the pine trees and smashing them. Walking engines of glittering metal. Each carried a huge funnel and I realized with horror that I'd seen this awful thing before.
A fifth Machine appeared on the far bank. It raised itself to full height, flourished the funnel high in the air - and the ghostly, terrible Heat Ray struck the town.
The House Between - Original Sci-Fi Series
So where are the frickin lasers?
No lasers, no cool.
its Strider from Lord of the Rings lore, nickname of aragorn in around bree land and you know it.
bastardly geeks geekizing all aspects of our culture....
eheehehehe
Read radical news here
why can i only post twice a day and then it tells me to wait 24 hrs
i didnt do anythin wron.g....
So they created a male robot.
'It's like a biped with a walking stick.'
4chan is already interested in images, please submit asap.
Sure baby, I'll give you my phone number...in Hex
How well can it handle a Glock?
It's a mechanical Pierson's Puppeteer, that's all.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
Rite...
If it wears shoes???
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
You hot-shot computer geeks at /. ought to b able create a new story filter - that permits any story with the string of random letters "Roland Piquepaille" to be filtered out. As a public service, of course. Clearly the Ed's aren't up to the task.
Brett
3 is more stable than 2 or four? Look, there is a point. It's lonely. Two points make a line. Three points make a plane. A fourth point would be restricted as to where it can be placed to stay on the level plane, and bad placement would...."break" your flat plane. Three points always make a flat plane. Four points are not so consistent.
Notice in the video where the guy watches with his hands on his hips whereas the girl instinctively reaches out as the device teeters forward? Will we have a whole generation of roboMoms?
'It's like a biped with a long dick.'
Fixed.
Besides, everyone knows that sex-crazed robots use tentacles instead of a "third leg" to satisfy their cravings.
GMD
Hm, I'd say it's more like a nine-legged dog that's had six legs removed.
Seriously, does he think it's that difficult for people to conceive of something with three legs?
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
R2D2 denies being self-excited, and says he only keeps replaying that hologram of Leia for sentimental reasons.
Watch-out! Striders!!!!!!
(So who's goinna develop the headhum....err....headcrabs?)
The school should *NEVER* be referred to as "Virginia Tech University"... ARGH!!! Yuck!!!
--> BSEE, VPI&SU 1987
There's no such thing as Virginia Tech University... it's Virginia Tech or Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
The article can never take your fun if you just refuse to read it. I mean come on...who needs to know what they are commenting about around here?
The full name of the school is "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University." "Virginia Tech" is an official trademark. "Virginia Tech University" draws angry, red-pen-toting alums.
Just thought I'd let you know...
I've got a 3rd leg but it never occurred to me to use it for walking, oh wait....
Did they really just say "Two legs good, three legs better"?
Not again...
I for one welcome our new three legged robotic overlords.
Want Big Business out of government? Take away the incentive and start by getting government out of big business!
I doubt this could honestly be called "more stable" than 2- or 4-legged robots, because during most of its stride, it is hanging off-center-of-gravity by two legs. This might be said to be more "stable" than most 2-legged strides, but 4-legged? I doubt it very much.
Further, each step averages 30 degrees away from the desired direction of travel, so it is a very inefficient walk, as well.
And it's worth pointing out that it turns itself upside down every time it takes a step. This would, I think, end up being a real bear of a problem in a practical robot... sometimes the head's on the top... sometimes the head's on the bottom. It also has each of the three sides being the "front" alternately-- so, essentially, it has no front... Still, it's pretty darn cool.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
I like this one better:
Anthromorphized
Roving
Asymmetrically
Gaited
Off-balance
Robotic
Novelty
Dan East
Better known as 318230.
BigDog by Boston Dynamics is already there.
For those who haven't seen it, watch the video. The part where they try to kick it over is pretty impressive.
Interesting robot. However, why is this sponsored by the Navy? I could see if it had three fins, but it looks like its a landlubbing robot?
The first prototype stands 1.8 metres tall, while the latest incarnation is slightly shorter, at 0.9 metres.
yeah...."slightly" shorter....
http://kered.org
IANARS (I am not a robot scientist), but given that the body has to rotate 180 degrees with each step, I find it difficult to figure out how it can carry any significant load. It's really cool looking, but I believe that would affect its utility. Big time.
To do list for Windows
That was the most worthless video possible. First, they waste almost half of it explaining all kinds of irrelevant things. "The robot doesn't walk like Hollywood!" Why not just show the robot walking, so we can see for ourselves? Then a whole bunch of step-by-step still imagery showing how a computer model of the robot would appear in different stages of walking. Then, finally, some footage of the computer model walking. Then a bunch of half-assed brochureware footage of the computer model in paramilitary applications. Then, a brief clip of the actual physical prototype FAILING to walk and being caught before it falls over. At the very end, the narrator indicates that NOW we're going to see footage of the physical prototype walking, except that the clip ends right at that point.
Any sufficiently well-organized community is indistinguishable from Government.
Where the hell is Gordon Freeman?
http://pinopsida.com
Have gnu, will travel.
First thing I thought of when I saw Strider and tripod in the headline.
... his puppets from The Dark Crystal back.
Who, instead of thinking about Half-Life 2, thought of The Tripods?
Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs - -all next week on Town Talk.
This can be done with 4 legs, 2 front legs for stability while the body flips 180 degrees and 2 back legs flip under. This means straight lines, right angles, and more stability.
I thought it was an interesting concept, except for the fact the body flips over. That means you can't put a torso above said tripod.
For years we've seen movies & video games show three-legged robots & critters walk around, but you've never seen the mechanics of it. The technical side of me was always curious how it could be done. If you have a standing tripod, the instant it raises a leg, you have an angled(ie not straight like a bipoed) footing for the remaining 2 legs. Add the offset center of gravity(of the body), and it's gonna tip! That moving leg better quickly move forward and plant the foot down. The other 2 legs will repeat the process in some logical order.
The robot in the article kind of chepens it with the center & rear leg doing a swing around. I think with some more research, a more proper way to walk would work that doesn't make the tripod top such an unusuable platform.
With the body rotating like that on each step, it's no use for bringing me beer.
factor 966971: 966971
I guess this robot could be good for flipping burgers inside it's "body" as it walks, but that is pretty much it, as it will be a great chalenge to add something usefull like arms/eyes to it's flipping-as-it-walks-body.
This "robot" design is Worthless.