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Shuffling wannabe Terminator robot learns the two-step
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Remember the delightful bipedal ‘bot from Masanao Koeda that we saw 18 months ago? The research platform was all about teaching robots to move more like humans and turn around on the spot easily.

Well, Koeda - an Associate Professor at Osaka Electro-Communication University - has improved his previous model and given it the ability to shuffle not just one peg, but both feet simultaneously.

The result is a far smoother locomotion that brings realistic bipedal robotic walking closer than ever before. You can see the results for yourself in the short videos on Prof. Koeda’s research page right here.

Chief among the improvements are the ability to account for friction between the feet and rough floors and still turn smoothly, as well as better load distribution.

Expect lasers and accompanying ‘pew-pew’ noises to reach the Koeda labs sometime next year, then.

(Thanks Masanao-san!)

12:32 AM JMLH • Permalink
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