To navigate a variety of
environments, robots should be able to adapt their walking behavior in a
similar way, adjusting their structure in response to environmental changes. With
this in mind, Researchers at Osaka University in Japan have recently created
PedestriANS, a bipedal robot that can change some of the physical
characteristics and movements of its legs in response to changes in its
surrounding environment.
PedestriANS, relies on an
actuator network system (ANS), a design concept introduced in their previous
work. In their past studies, the researchers incorporated the same concept in
several other applications, including robotic spines, arms and multi-legged
robots. The robot adapts to changes in its surrounding environment by
exploiting physical characteristics of its legs and interactions between its
different components, resulting in a range of different walking behaviors.
More information: