A Robot That Walks the Walk
From: Michigan Engineer - Spring 2005 - page 18
By: Conny Coon

Two-legged robots are the best models for this sort of study, but most of
today's existing bipedal robots walk on the basis of a quasi-static stability
notion, which imposes a conservative walking motion in which the foot remains
flat on the ground to achieve balance with each step. Human locomotion on the
other hand is statically unstable in most points of the gait: if you were to
attempt to "freeze" your motion in mid-stride, you'd fall. A human gait uses
dynamic stability. The flat-footed walking of current robots is clearly
un-humanlike. 

With support from the National Science Foundation and the Center for
Biomedical Engineering Research, Jessy Grizzle began working cooperatively
with a French research team to solve the problem of dynamic stabilization in
walking robots. Their project, ROBBEA, produced RABBIT, a bipedal robot
specifically designed to advance the fundamental understanding of controlled,
legged locomotion.  

Research conducted on RABBIT and robots like it will continue to advance the
understanding of human locomotion. And building better robots will
undoubtedly go a long way toward building and rebuilding better lives for
many. 

Read the entrie article at:
http://www.engin.umich.edu/alumni/engineer/05S/research/robot/

Photo caption:
RABBIT is a bipedal robot designed to advance the understanding of
controlled, legged locomotion.

Links:
Jessy W. Grizzle
http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~grizzle/

Robot walks, balances like a human
http://www.umich.edu/news/?Releases/2005/Jan05/grizzle_test

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Robot Walks, Balances Like a Human
From: CNN - 04/18/2005

University of Michigan scientists say that have created a robot called
"Rabbit" that is the first to resemble a human in the way it walks and
balances. Instead of feet, Rabbit has stilts that can pivot on a point, and
if the robot is pushed, it can step forward and regain its balance. Rabbit's
locomotion is based on a theory described in the recent issue of the
International Journal of Robotics Research. "It's a matter of understanding
enough about the dynamics of walking and balance so that you can express with
mathematical formulas how you want the robot to move, and then automatically
produce the control algorithm that will induce the desired walking motion on
the very first try," says Jessy Grizzle, a professor of electrical
engineering and computer science at the university. Grizzle believes more
affordable human prosthetics and rehabilitative walking aides for spinal
injury patients could result from the development. The concept also has
potential applications in stair-climbing machines for the home, and in robots
for navigating difficult terrain. 

Read this entire article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/04/18/spark.rabbit

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Human-like Robot
From: NASA Tech Briefs Insider - 05/17/2005

Taking over six years for scientists to develop, a machine called RABBIT is
the first known robot to walk and balance like a human. It has been able to
walk gracefully for the past 18 months.

RABBIT was built without feet; its legs end like stilts so that it pivots on
a point when it moves forward. The balancing ability programmed into the robot
has many applications in the medical field, such as "smart" prosthetics that
adapt to the wearer and physical rehabilitation aids to help people regain the
ability to walk.

Read the complete story at:
http://www.umich.edu/news/index.html?Releases/2005/May05/r051105

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Robot Runs Like Humans
From: Technology Research News - 06/22/2005
By: Eric Smalley

Scientists from the University of Michigan and the Communications and the
Cybernetic Research Institute of Nantes in France have used a series of
algorithms to map the mechanics of balance in a bipedal robot they have
developed that can walk and run like a human. The robot, named "Rabbit," has
no feet, ankles, or upper body, and moves as though on stilts. Running posed
a special challenge, as researchers used a three-phase trajectory to maintain
control of robot while it was out of contact with the ground. Michigan
engineering and computer science professor Jessy Grizzle says the
mathematical insight their research provides into dynamic balancing will have
significant implications for rehabilitation and prosthetics. Rabbit
represents a departure from earlier passive dynamic robots because of active
joints, powered by motors that offer increased agility, albeit at the expense
of speed. Grizzle says adoption of their dynamic balancing technology is
still two to five years in the offing, while he expect to see medical
applications in use in five to 10 years. Rabbit is part of a larger research
project with goal of developing robots that can run, walk and run at
different speeds, and walk while carrying a load. The research, funded by the
National Science Foundation and France's National Center for Scientific
Research, was presented at the IEEE Conference on Decision and Control in
December. Others working on the project include Ohio State University's Eric
Westervelt, and the Cybernetics Research Institute's Christine Chevallereau. 

Read the entire story at:
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2005/061505/Robot_runs_like_humans_061505.html

