Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Robotics Science

Humanoid Robot Is the 'Fastest In the World' Thanks To Pair of Sneakers (livescience.com) 30

Posted by BeauHD from the Usain-Bolt-of-robots dept.
AmiMoJo shares a report from Live Science: Scientists have demonstrated a new humanoid robot that can run at a top speed of just over 8 miles per hour (mph) -- or 3.6 meters per second (m/s) to be exact. This makes it the speediest machine of its kind built so far, albeit these speeds were only achieved with the help of added footwear. STAR1 is a bipedal robot built by the Chinese company Robot Era that's 5 feet 7 inches (171 centimeters) tall and weighs 143 pounds (65 kilograms).

Powered by high-torque motors and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, the footwear-donning STAR1 navigated different types of terrain, including grassland and gravel, while jogging on paved roads and earth, and sustained its top speed for 34 minutes. A top speed of 8 mph means it beat Unitree's H1 robot -- which set the previous speed record for a bipedal robot at 7.4 mph (3.3 m/s) in March 2024. Although STAR1 had the help of footwear, H1 was not technically jogging or running as its feet did not both leave the ground at once during transit. You can watch STAR1 racing through the Gobi Desert here.

Humanoid Robot Is the 'Fastest In the World' Thanks To Pair of Sneakers More | Reply

Humanoid Robot Is the 'Fastest In the World' Thanks To Pair of Sneakers

Comments Filter:

  • AI simulated full bowls and desperation? (Score:3)

    by ClueHammer ( 6261830 ) on Thursday October 24, 2024 @06:20AM (#64889847)
    As that is what it looks like to me, a robot in desperate need of a toilet...

    • Re:AI simulated full bowls and desperation? (Score:4, Informative)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Thursday October 24, 2024 @07:32AM (#64889967) Homepage Journal

      It's because humanoid robots tend to be a bit top heavy, and don't have as good balance capabilities as humans do. So they have to move a bit more squat.

      Boston Dynamics have done some work in this area too, and you see their humanoid robots have quite short legs relative to the size of their bodies. Theirs are more capable of actual running, where both feet leave the ground at the same time, but it's not actually faster than this one. The main issue with running is that you can tell how good your footing is before you commit to putting weight on it, which on uneven and sometimes loose terrain is a problem.

      So basically there are two ways to make a bipedal robot faster: improve its balance, or speed up the process of establishing that it is on safe footing. These scientists have done a combination of the two. The shoes improve grip and increase the surface area of the foot, and offer some flexibility that typical robot feet lack.

      • Look at it closely: the batteries are at the waist, the top (head/arms/trunk) are just decoration. You can tell because the body doesn't lean forward enough to generate forward propulsion...unless the weight is all in the bottom half. Then the legs are moving reasonably.

      • The wording in the summary is a bit awkward, it sounds like the previous record holder, H1, did not have both feet leave the ground. However, if you look at the video you can clearly see that STAR1 has all four limbs off the ground at once.

    • It explains why it was running so quickly.

    • Humanoid Robot Is the 'Fastest In the World' Thanks To [a fully simulated bowl]

  • My son keeps telling me that specific sneakers will make him faster. Maybe I should listen more closely.

    • Some shoes will. They are against the rules in competitive sport.

      Nike Vaporfly is one that comes to mind...

  • Good news for now (Score:3)

    by necro81 ( 917438 ) on Thursday October 24, 2024 @07:22AM (#64889953) Journal
    8 miles per hour = 7:30/mi pace = 12.9 kph = 3.75 m/s = 4:40/km

    Compared to my typical running pace, it's nice to know I could still outrun this thing. (And with much better form!) Furthermore, as my weekend runs extend for more than an hour, I probably have greater endurance than whatever batteries it hauls around.
  • I do look like an idiot when I run.
  • Looks like it would be far more efficient to unravel some sort of wheels, transformers-like, and just enjoy the mobility optimisation that they provide.

    • There was a DARPA S&R challenge where one of the robots did just that - it had wheels on its knees and ankle joints, and for long flat runs in would kneel and roll.

      If you can't make your robot as agile as a human, adding wheels is very efficient. Even if you can, if the robot's going to cover long distances wheels become worth the weight penalty very quickly.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by HiThere ( 15173 )

        Whether wheels are worthwhile depends a lot on the terrain. Lots of places they're pure encumbrance. (Try to go upstairs on wheels. Or just over unimproved terrain.)

    • Or treads/tracks.

      The only reason for legs on most robots is to deal with stairs. Most general purpose home and factory/warehouse robots would be just fine on wheels or treads. They're doing good work but it would be more useful to have a non-leg robot that could do useful real world stuff than a leg robot that can't.

  • ...can they twerk?

  • Real flat looking

  • It doesn't show the legs much, it's mostly the top half of the robots, sometimes just the top of the heads. So many cuts and high video compression, it's hard to see anything clearly.

  • I realize this is a technology demo but running seems like the last thing we need automated.

  • Are they Nike, Reebok, Adidas, or Puma?

    I bet they're PF Flyers...kids used to brag about how much faster they were when they wore their PF Flyers!

  • 8mph is only a 3h16 marathon pace. I can run faster than that (sub 3). For a robot who doesn't get tired, this is a rather pitiful pace.

Slashdot Top Deals

Torque is cheap.

Close