Little has been released on the subject since that big Honda showcase a couple of years ago when they showed the world why robots will sometime inhabit the earth with their revolutionary robot ASIMO. News hasn’t been completely dry; however, the progress with ASIMO hasn’t even been as close to as exciting as when they first announced “it.” The fact that robots will someday walk this earth just like us is no longer science fiction. It’s very much reality, but it’s when that will actually happen that we’re constantly debating. More so are we pondering what they will look like and what they will be capable of doing.
Researcher Ryuma Niiyama has created his very own robot that he named Athlete. The name is just a peak at what this half body robot is capable of. As development continues, Athlete will be able to outrun any human that walks (runs) the earth with ease. It’s hard to believe such claims if you haven’t seen evidence that there is some progress in the movement and the flexibility of a robot.
That evidence is exactly what Ryuma has provided to the world. In his lab, he’s been able to recreate the running motion with his robot and the progress is fast and ultimately impressive. Immediately an image comes up in my head with an android police officer chasing a robber down the street. Run robot, RUN!
Via: [POPSCI]
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