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Cat-like Robot Runs Like the Wind
DeviceGuru writes "Researchers at the Biorob lab at Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), have announced a cat-like robot that is claimed to be the fastest quadruped robot under 30 kilograms. The Cheetah-cub Robot, which runs real-time Xenomai Linux on an x86-based RoBoard robot control board, mimics the biomechanics of a cat to increase the speed and stability of it quadroped legs, helping it achieve speeds of 1.42m/s. The goal of the still-early-stage project is to encourage research in biomechanics, with an aim toward building faster robots for search and rescue, or ground exploration. More info is available on EPFL's Cheetah page."
1.42 metres per second is 5.11 kph / 3.18 mph, or Force One on the Beaufort scale, which Wikipedia tells me means "Smoke drift indicates wind direction. Leaves and wind vanes are stationary."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Variety
On y va, qui mal y pense!
A guy I know who tried to take a bike to Everest Base Camp and ended up having it carried in and out has an answer for that :)
I dare say that even my cat
who is old and rather fat
can move more quickly than that
Look, I'm not going to believe it's a cat like robot until it can lay around for 18 hours of the day and lick it's own arse.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
But will it leave a trail of rainbows in its wake?
From the same people who made Big Dog I present to you the Cheetah Robot.
I've passed wind that was faster than that. Color me unimpressed.
Don't get me wrong, it's nifty to see a four legged robot walk (although it seems to be rather random which foot hits the floor when), but when you announce something incredible and deliver something "ok", expect people to be kinda "meh".
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
... while in its current form it is slow and in need to be tethered, I see no reason for that to stay that way as technology advances.
Imagining that one day tech improves to the point when these things are as fast and nimble as a cat, and can last at least a few days in power, you could stick explosives on them and have them track targets. Or have them stay hidden then lunge at high speed when someone gets too close.
Like a mine that will chase after you before it explodes. Considering how fast my cat can run, and how nimble it is, in future these things could be quite terrifying, especially if they are released in large batches. Probably the only weapon that may save you is a shotgun (short of some futuristic, directed, hand held, EMP cannon).
Makes me imagine of the head crabs in half life, or the replicators in stargate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9tWYaujtD4
Wake me up when it lands on its feet (after being dropped).
Sure it runs like the wind (a very slow and mostly tired out wind).
Visit CryptoGnome in his home.
Its own, not it's [SICK] own.
It's the clawing of the furniture that concerns me, and leaving little nuts and bolts and oil puddles in dark corners of the room.
*Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
I for one... oh never mind, you Slashdotters are too young these days!
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The RedPlanet was not a bad movie, and the main villain is a cat-like military robot that goes crazy and begins killing the crew one by one in a self-initiated wargame. Its form, threats, apparent application are all very competent. And it will scare the shit out of you when you realize that this is what they want to build.
If you drop the robot from the top of a tree, does it land on its feet? Can it even climb the tree?
Based on the very limited view we are given of this thing, I start to seriously wonder why a real-time Linux system was used. It looks like it is just actuating legs blindly. Real-time systems are tremendously useful for responding to physics in... (wait for it)... real time. "I'm starting to fall! Let me adjust this this way to prevent it. Can't wait 30ms for a response! Need to respond now, otherwise the response will be wrong." Sure, it's actuating its legs in a manner that is fault-tolerant (It can travel down breaks in the terrain up to 20% the length of its legs), but that is entirely based on the springs absorbing the extra unexpected impact and then losing it after the leg leaves the ground again, not a real-time adjustment.
This depresses me a little because, like others, it feels misleading. Mention real-time linux! Does it help or hinder? No, not really. Mention that it's cat like! How is it cat-like? Um... It has four legs and springy bits! Oh, and it goes faster stably than any other quadrupedal robot in its size bracket. How fast? That's not very fast really... But focus on the fast-ER part! It runs like the wind! A very slow, calm wind...
@Whee
Now THAT would be a story!
Dark Reflection
This has like a third of the joints of a cat. The shoulders are limited to one plane, and there's no real control past the elbows and knees. A crawling baby is more elegant than this robot. Sure it's a great step forward but to call it cat-like is completely ridiculous. It has four legs. That's the only similarity so far.
I find it amusing walking robot creators talking about accessing areas inaccessible via wheeled vehicles. Walking down a 1cm step? Are you kidding me! Wheeled robots blow this thing away in every aspect, until it can go up stairs, climb the side of a mountain, and walk around just as good as a human, please call your job what it is, a tiny fractional step having fun spending other peoples money.
My cat spends most of its time sleeping (Usually in inappropriate places). So a cat-like robot would just be a sack of loose mechanical parts.
Have gnu, will travel.
In Soviet Russia, Slashdot turns you in!
Have gnu, will travel.
1.42 m/s = 3.18 mph = 5.11 kph
Meters per second is probably far more apropriate for something that is tethered on the end of a short cable but I'm sure many more of us can relate to one of either mph or kph.
Can it run upwind directly against the wind?
From the 22nd century of the future! This one arrived earlier...
Sig Registration Form 34c_766(a) submitted to Ministry of Signature Management. Approval pending.
Duh! like everybody knows that THIS was already done by California RISC Systems back in 1989. Now, if you will excuse me, the cheese on my nachos is solidifying...
This sig is not paradoxical or ironic.
Its own, not it's [SICK] own.
Ahem, it's [sic].
"sic" is Latin for "thus". If you're going to be a grammar Nazi, at least be accurate in your own post.
Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.