The bipedal robot Cassie, developed by the American start-up Agility Robotics and Oregon State University (OSU), was able to run 5 kilometers on a single charge in the space of 53 minutes and 3 seconds. This announcement, which marks a new stage in the motor skills and agility of bipedal robots, was made on Sunday July 25 by the OSU.
FROM DELIVERIES TO WALKING RACES
The Cassie robot, presented for the first time in 2017 by Jonathan Hurst who is a professor at OSU, was created with the ambition of delivering packages. Since then, engineers at the University of Oregon have trained Cassie in a simulator to allow her to climb and descend stairs without using a camera or LIDAR or even being able to run 5 kilometers.
“OSU Robotics Lab students combined expertise in biomechanics and existing robot control approaches with new machine learning tools, said Jonathan Hurst. This type of holistic approach will achieve performance levels similar to those of animals.“.
Robots available to individuals
It is in the university grounds that the robot indulged in its race to “feetDuring this test Cassie fell the first time due to an overheated computer and then a second time after performing a turn too quickly. However, according to Jeremy Dao, another member of the engineering team. , they were able through this test “reach the limits of the material and show what it can doThe team’s work will help better understand leg movement and may help make bipedal robots more common in the future.
To achieve this result Cassie “learned to run on her own with what is called a deep reinforcement learning algorithm,” the university said. This allows the robot to make adjustments to maintain its balance while changing position or being in motion. For Jonathan Hurst, this new milestone is a sign that walking robots are becoming commonplace, “like the automobile, and will have a similar impactIn addition to logistical tasks such as delivering packages, bipedal robots will one day have the intelligence and security capabilities to help individuals in their homes, he added.
Agility Robotics is also behind Digit, a bipedal robot experienced by Ford and marketed since January 2020. Unlike Cassie, Digit has two arms and two legs which allows it to carry a package while climbing stairs. A camera is attached to his chest and a lidar replaces his head.