By Charles Carter, 29/09/22
Engineers at Oregon State University (OSU) have achieved the 100m Guinness World Record for a bidpedal bot using the Cassie platform built by OSU spin out Agility Robotics.
The bizarre looking two-legged machine with no torso, head or arms, powered across OSU’s Whyte Track and Field Center in a cool 24.73 seconds.
To put this in perspective though, this is more than double Usain Bolt’s men’s record which stands at 9.58 seconds.
And with no previous record to beat, the pressure was off.
Still, a great achievement!
How does it work?
Cassie has knees that bend like an ostrich’s and operates with no cameras or external sensors, essentially as if blind.
The bot’s machine learning control algorithms went through the equivalent of a year’s simulated training, condensed into a week through parallel processing.
Cassie appeared to stumble half way through the distance, but managed to bring it back from the brink to finish the course without a tumble.
As well as learning to run, the bot had to begin from a free-standing start and return to a standing position after the race, to pass the world record rules.
This was actually more difficult to achieve, technically, than the running part.
Cassie was created under the leadership of Oregon State robotics professor Jonathan Hurst with a 16-month, $1 million grant from DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).
What are the potential benefits?
Building robots that can run as fast or faster than humans means they will be able to replace human tasks more easily and with equal or greater efficiency.
Cassie’s gait is also very energy efficient and can run for many hours on a single battery charge.
Questions for you. Comment below
- First thought that comes into your head?
- Pros and cons according to you?
- Other applications of this approach?
- What could this be combined with?
Links
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/629600-fastest-100-m-by-a-bipedal-robot