A walking robot like MABEL might not look that interesting to many people since humans do it all the time with no effort but when you think of the complexity behind what is being done in the video above you have to admire the machine!
Thanks for the tip Fahd
Via: Engadget
“MABEL runs free for over 110 steps! In our opinion, this is the most realistic, human-like running achieved on a robot. It has a very satisfying feel to it. The robot just moves right. It is up in the air for more than a third of the duration of step. The height off the ground is right. Whereas other robots had their feet maybe one sixth of an inch off the ground, MABEL is 3 to 4 in inches in the air. The motion of the hip, which is like a bouncing ball, and the pitching of the torso give you the sensation of running. It all just makes you say, that is running.
MABEL has four electric motors, two for each leg, which provide power. Whether the robot is walking, running, or just standing, there is a feedback controller on a computer that measures all of the positions of the robot’s joints and the angle of its body, and then determines the proper power commands to send to the motors.”