After getting its Boston Dynamic Atlas robot to perform a brief balancing act on a thin strip of ply earlier this year, the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC) has loaded up a new algorithm that allows the bipedal bot to traverse tricky terrain. The IHMC's Atlas team says that the new control algorithm allows the humanoid robot to ensure a solid foothold by shifting the weight of its outstretched foot to determine optimum balance. When steady footing is achieved, Atlas then does a quick step onto the next position, quickly heaving up its torso and moving its other leg forward. The researchers say that Atlas doesn't need to know what sort of terrain is coming up next, and is capable of maintaining balance even when its foot is placed on thin contact points, such as building blocks set at an angle. The video below shows the robot's steady progress across a brick-strewn divide. Source: IHMC Atlas Walking over Partial Footholds
IHMC ( IHMC ) has created a new The Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition that allows its Boston Dynamic Atlas robot to walk across uneven ground. The bipedal machine, which has no prior knowledge of the terrain it will cross, shifts the weight of its feet and uses its torso and outstretched arms to balance, before making a step. The algorithm researchers said the robot can maintain its balance, even when walking on thin contact points.