Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
These Robot Legs Are Made For, Well, Walking
You can't have realistic Terminator robots without robotic legs that present accurate representations of human gait. University of Arizona engineers have done an amazing job of replicating human leg motions.
(Biologically accurate robot walking legs)
The body is based on principles derived from human muscular architecture, using muscles on straps to mimic agonist/antagonist muscle action as well as bifunctional muscles. Load sensors in the straps model Golgi tendon organs. The neural architecture is a central pattern generator (CPG) composed of a half-center oscillator combined with phase-modulated reflexes that is simulated using a spiking neural network. We show that the interaction between the reflex system, body dynamics and CPG results in a walking cycle that is entrained to the dynamics of the system. We also show that the CPG helped stabilize the gait against perturbations relative to a purely reflexive system, and compared the joint trajectories to human walking data.
Researchers hope that a better understanding of human locomotion will help develop new therapies for disabled people.
Update 28-Feb-2025: In his interesting 1949 story The Cybernetic Brain, science fiction writer Charles Recour describes a prosthetic leg with a brain:
It was an artificial leg, so cleverly and so artfully designed that it could hardly be told from a real one. Dr. Schmidt handed it to Larry. “Feel it,” he said, beaming, “it’s made of plastic and titanium. It doesn’t weigh very much.”Larry hefted the incredibly real contraption. To the touch, it felt as if it were made of human flesh. Its lightness was due to its being made of titanium, a metal as strong as steel, but much lighter. Its upper portion carried a web strap-and-belt arrangement for attaching, to the thigh.
('The Cybernetic Brain' by Charles Recour)"[Dr. Clydestone] will bring out the desired nerve endings from the end of the stump. He’ll connect them through platinum wires to little cable connectors... to seven nerve-endings protruding from his flesh, terminating, in ordinary electrical connections!"
But it was not the leg itself which was the real impressive agent; rather it was the electronic brain and the servo-mechanisms servicing it. Servomechanisms were simply electric or hydraulic motors whose motion was precisely controlled from a distance by electronic means.
The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain, through the mediation of the electronic brain in the leg. It might be said that the artificial leg was a robot.
End update.
Via MedGadget.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/9/2012)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.' - Philip K. Dick, 1974.
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'' - Isaac Asimov (1940)
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...' - Elizabeth Bellamy, 1899.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Nuclear Plant Restarted To Power AI To Feed Us Dreams
'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
Pivotal Blackfly Electric Aircraft Lifts And Hovers
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
CORLEO Robotic Horse Concept Looks Ready To Ride
Imagine digging your heels in to a steam horse!
Who First Thought Of A Tin Foil Hat?
'We had discovered that metal was relatively impervious to the telepathic effect.'
Warp Drive Tech Back On The Menu
'Detailed plans for the construction of the Gundstetter-Halone warp drive were flowing.'
Huawei Pura X Folding Phattie Phone
Why can't we get more innovative phone configurations?
Sleep Pods At Daxing International Airport
'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
Robot Baristas Learn Their Trade Without Paying Royalties
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
JAXA Int Ball 2 Coming Right Along As Star Wars Remote
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
Robot Bricklayer Or Passer-By Bricklayer?
'Oscar picked up a trowel. 'I'm the tool for the mortar,' the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.'
Robot Gas Station Attendant Pumps Gas For You
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.'
Engineer Creates Crazy Motorized Track Hospital Bed
The Roujin Z system provides care to fully bedridden patients - and then some!
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
