In this amazing video, the robot conceptualizes itself, determining its own structure using sensors built into each joint. Then, it thinks of different ways that it might move - walk - from place to place.
As you will see, it can also see if damage has been done. The robot once again determines the structure that it has, and constructs a new gait.
Watching this video is like watching fish walk on land for the first time. I was trying to figure out alternative titles like "robot parts organize themselves and walk right out of the bin."
This robot seems to be able to conceptualize itself much in the same way as HAL, the computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey can sense the "body" of the ship that it controls.
Learn more here.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/20/2006)
Drosophila Robotica, The Mechanical Fly
'... the Scarab [flying robot] buzzed into the great workroom as any intruding insect might...'- Raymond Z. Gallun, 1936.
Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird
'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'- Philip E. High, 1968.
Bartendro Robot Bartender
'He sipped the cognac that the robot bartender handed him...'- Alfred Bester, 1956.
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Sky City's 220 Stories Are Go
'It rested among green parklands and... stood in total isolation, a glittering block of whites and flashing windows dotted with colors.'
Robo-Raven Flapping Wing Robot Bird
'When he had first built them, they had been crude indeed, flying mechanisms with little more than a reflex-response unit.'