A few weeks ahead the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Chinese engineers have presented a six-legged skiing robot that expertly slaloms down a snowy white slope in Shenyang, China. The team of engineers said that the robot stands on a pair of skis with four of its legs and grips poles using its two other limbs.
Researchers have put it to tests in both beginner and intermediate slopes and have proven to stay upright and avoid obstacles. The robot was developed by engineers from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
(Photo : JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images) A worker sets up an installation displaying the logo of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games along a street in Beijing on January 21, 2022.
Unbelievable Footage Shows the Six-Legged Robot Skiing
The university recently released a video showing how the six-legged skiing robot moves down a slope, expertly bends its legs to adjust its balance and avoids several obstacles on its way.
It also showed a person following the robot who attempted to get in its way. The robot designed to analyze its surroundings successfully avoided it through its smooth and controlled movements.
ALSO READ: Meet iCub: Iron Man-Like Robot Designed for Search and Rescue Missions During Natural Disasters
Six-Legged Robot Will add Fun to the Winter Olympics
The robot is said to be capable of intelligent perception, planning and decision-making regarding the obstacles on its course, Newsbreak reported. Additionally, the robot can be controlled by a human-computer interaction that allows it to ski through crowds and fun for the skiers.
The recent tests conducted on the robot showed that it passed both beginner and intermediate ski slopes, wherein challenges included "racing, turning, route planning, obstacle avoidance, and human-robot interaction through intelligent sensing and braking control," the university announced.
The six-legged robot manifests both the spirit of the "Winter Olympics with Science and Technology" and the possibilities of using the technology after the international athletic event. The researchers said that the robot, combined with 5G and wireless fidelity, can be used in machine sports games through remote control to form a tec sense featured entertainment that is trendy for young ski lovers.
The project is supported by the National Key R&D Program of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology and is specially built for the upcoming Winter Olympics in China this February 4.
World's Largest Electric-Powered Four-Legged Robot
Before the six-legged robot, China also claimed to have built the largest electric-powered quadruped bionic robot in the world designed for military use. Reports claim that it resembles Boston dynamics' Big Dog in 2005, which was too noisy to be deployed in the real world.
Chinese state news agency reported via Newsbreak that the four-legged robot could carry loads of up to 352 pounds (160 kilograms) and move up to 6 miles per hour (10kilometers per hour). However, the robot is most impressive with its ability to navigate through different types of terrain, such as cliffs, muddy roads, grasslands, sand, trenches, and snow.
Check out more news and information on Robotics in Science Times.