I'm sure Star Wars fans recall the two-legged walkers like the one pictured below.
(AT-ST from Star Wars)
This two-legged robot has been brought to life - in a much shorter version - by Agility Robotics.
(Cassie two-legged robot)
It is loosely modeled on the cassowary, a flightless bird similar to an ostrich. Legs with backward-facing knees attach to a short torso that holds batteries, motors and a pair of computers. U-M is receiving the first unit.
“Cassie is tough. It is designed for the rough-and-tumble life of an experimental robot. In principle, we should not have to use a safety gantry of any kind,” said Grizzle, the Elmer G. Gilbert Distinguished University Professor and Jerry W. and Carol L. Levin Professor of Engineering. “This will allow us to take the robot in wild places.”
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'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
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