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Soccerbots Learn How To Fall Gracefully

Posted by samzenpus on from the I've-fallen-and-I-can't-compute dept.

wjousts writes "Up until now, most work with humanoid robotics has focused on keeping them upright and balanced, but in the real world, falling down is inevitable. So now researcher in Chile are looking at teaching their Soccerbots how to fall down gracefully to minimize damage and allow for a quick recovery. According to a New Scientist article, 'They found that one of the main ways to minimise damage is for the robot to fold its legs underneath it. Among other things, that means the robot is much less likely to hit its head on the ground. Another good strategy is to use a fall sequence consisting of several movements, so the falling body has several points of contact with the ground, spreading the energy of the impact over a large number of joints, rather than taking it all in one disastrous crunch.'"

10 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. Fail gracefully? by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 5, Funny

    You've obviously never seen soccer.

    The bot will tap into the bot with the ball, then proceed to spin at full speed until it lets some smoke out of the IC. Look around to see if anyone saw it and continue playing.

    1. Re:Fail gracefully? by syousef · · Score: 4, Funny

      Fall gracefully, as in like a 3rd rate theatre actor playing Hamlet that staggers about for 5 minutes and gets up 3 more times to exaggerate the death.

      Not Fail gracefully, as in take out a bank or two but still get $100 million in severance while everyone who worked for you is turfed out on the street without even their entitelments.

      --
      These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
  2. Even more life-like by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    They can take a dive, just like real soccer players!

  3. This is great by MichaelSmith · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Every soccer player knows that the most important skill is knowing when and how to fall.

    --
    http://michaelsmith.id.au
    1. Re:This is great by centuren · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Every Italian soccer player knows that the most important skill is knowing when and how to fall.

      Fixed that for you.

    2. Re:This is great by newcastlejon · · Score: 5, Funny

      Every Chelsea player knows that the most important skill is knowing when and how to fall.

      There, that should cover just about every nationality besides English.

      --
      If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
  4. The essense of Judo by diskofish · · Score: 4, Informative

    As a Judo practitioner, I can tell you that learning how to fall correctly is the key to not getting hurt. The article describes exactly what a breakfall is. In Judo, you collapse your legs and roll. It would make sense that they program a robot to do the same thing.

  5. Whatever next? by Rupert · · Score: 4, Funny

    Argentinian soccerbots with hands.

    This grudge is now 23 years old. Hopefully it will be moving out on its own once it's done with grad school.

    --

    --
    E_NOSIG
  6. I for one... by sokoban · · Score: 5, Funny

    Welcome the downfall of our graceful robotic overlords.

    --
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 is the magic number.
  7. Learning how to fall - Learning how to walk by TrevorB · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As a Dad, it would seem to me that robots learning how to fall is a prerequisite for learning how to walk. Children around 12 months old spend a lot of time learning how to fall gracefully, so that they have the confidence to actually take steps and walk without fear of damaging themselves.

    I recall a video some years back of a number of Japanese engineers racing towards a walking robot that was about to fall, for fear of it breaking. Somewhere in the back of my head I wondered if they ever took the time to observe humans learning to walk.