The field of robotics has gone a long way in developing better and more intelligent robots. Although they may not yet be considered among the ranks of the giant robots that most people are familiar with in popular Japanese anise, the robotics experts are slowly aspiring to get there. It would only be a matter of time when these robots may be able to find themselves as part of our reality instead of just in our imaginations.
But until then, experts is robotics have still a lot to cover. And in the field of long distance walking, a robot has just set a record that may set the bar for other robots in the future. According to an article in the Science Daily website, a team of Cornell students created a robot that was able to walk around the University track nonstop for a little of over nine kilometers or 5.6 miles.
The team of Cornell students, guided by Andy Rubina, professor of theoretical and applied mechanics at Cornell University, developed a robot that walked around the Barton Hall running track continuously without stopping for 45 laps, which is good for about nine kilometers. The said robot was said to have stopped only because its batteries may have died.
An earlier version of the same robot has previously set the record by free walking a distance of about one kilometer. There is another robot that has been able to walk for two and a half kilometers on a treadmill. Although the newly established walking record by the robot was noted, no rules for such records has previously been established. Putting the record setting event aside, the robot more effectively showed the machine’s exceptional energy efficiency.
Unlike other robots that employ motors to control their movement, this Cornell robot, which was dubbed the "Ranger", imitates human walking that uses gravity to help swing its legs forward. When walking, the Cornell robot looks like human legs walking on crutches. Two pairs of legs alternately swing to propel the robot forward, using gravity as part of the motion process.
Source: "Cornell Robot Sets A Record For Distance Walking." Science Daily 12 April 2008. 25 April 2008 .
