Southern University of Science and Technology
It’s exactly what it sounds like: a person walking normally, while a pair of robotic legs advances behind, in the manner of a horse or a centaur. Why carry a heavy backpack when your centaur legs can carry the weight?
Since he began to walk on two legs, man has dreamed of the possibility of walk on two moreplaced a little further back and connected by a second powerful torso, similar to that of a horse.
Because sometimes, dreams really do come true. But until genetic fusion between species sees the light of day, we will have to settle for a robotic equivalent — thanks to a team from the Southern University of Science and Technology, in Shenzhen, China.
The team of engineers recently presented the prototype of a system that attaches a two-legged robotic platform behind a human user.
The device, described in a published in The International Journal of Robotics Research, walks in sync with the user while carrying heavy loads that would normally be carried in a backpack.
The system It’s exactly what it seems: a person walking normally, while a pair of robotic legs advances behind herin the manner of a horse or a centaur, supporting the weight that would otherwise fall on whoever carries it.
Robotic legs are versatile. Can follow a person climbing stairs or crossing uneven ground. The researchers say the system adapts to speed and direction of travel of the user, distributing the weight across the robotic body instead of the human body.
“The results of the experimental evaluation demonstrate that the Centaur robot adapts effectively to different directions and human walking speeds, collaborating perfectly with humans to cross different terrains”, wrote the study authors in their article.
The research team has not commented on whether the system would continue to function properly if it were disguised as the back half of a horse suit, although it is likely that they will eventually test this hypothesis, he says.
In testing, the team concluded that the centaur-style robot significantly reduced user’s metabolic effortmeaning that people carrying heavy loads used less energy while walking.
According to the researchers, the robot can also apply a slight horizontal force during walking, helping to boost the user.
Although it can be argued that a simple wheelbarrow is a cheaper and elegantly designed solution to whatever problem this robot centaur seeks to solve, there is one thing a wheelbarrow will never be able to do: make him feel completeor when, finally, he can cross a meadow bare-chested, with his powerful horse legs trotting behind him.
