German engineers demo ROBOT APE

Balance is relatively easy for humans because we spent millennia evolving into walking upright, but it's difficult for robotics researchers. Researchers at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence have decided to skip bipedism in favour of a robot that walks like an ape. The 18 kg robot, dubbed iStruct by its …

[Captain DaFt]

Well at least they put a head on this one.

Now the Martians'll know which end to threaten!

[Esskay]

"artificial crater"

Sounds a lot like a hollowed out volcano to me...

Skullduggery is afoot...

[Pete the not so great]

Does it do...

The Balmer?

[Eddy Ito]

"The 18 kg robot..."

I for one say thank goodness for that. Had it been 300 kg and seeing no tether, it would have been worrisome even with half the strength of a similarly sized ape. Now then, how about a nice video on really challenging terrain.

[Evil Auditor]

Re: "The 18 kg robot..."

Na, the worrisome bit would be if it could get agitated like apes do and had had the tools to simmer down like apes do, i.e. humping whatever is available.

[Anomalous Cowshed]

Ze Robot...

EEt iz anstoppabel, hahaha. Finally, Ve are back in ze Bizness, and Ve are coming zu get You verever You are, even if You climb up ze Tree or down ze Krater. You are up Sheiss Kreek, Inglish and American PigDogs!

[Evil Auditor]

i

Can we please stop with all those i prefixes. Thank you.

[Grave]

Re: i

iDiots

how long will it take crApple to change its name to ipple haha

[Dr Patrick J R Harkin]

Re: i

Agreed. iCan'ttakemuchmore.

[Graham Marsden]

Re: i

iAgree

[jungle_jim]

But can it

fling fæces ?

[Cameron Colley]

Needs more monolith.

Possibly a pile of parts also.

[Gordo Rex]

Good to see...

that someone is re-using the set where they shot all the Apollo "moon" scenes.

[Anonymous Coward]

A metal gorilla

For when a 7ft tall 400lb real ape just isn't enough.

[Graham Marsden]

Can I just say....

... Oook!

[d3rrial]

Useless?

Why are we trying to imitate nature? I get that nature had a pretty long time of figuring out solutions that work and solutions that don't, but I doubt that there are no more efficient means of traversing diverse terrains... Some engineers have to sit down and come up with the most efficient way of movement, that works on most different terrains (which does exclude standalone wheels btw.). Bro-tip: Flying is PRETTY efficient. Anything that conserves inertia is also very good, for example kangaroos can move very energy efficient...

[jungle_jim]

Re: Useless?

Are you proposing a robotic kangaroo?

[Steve Todd]

Re: Useless?

Because working out how to control and synchronise all of those servos and sensors is obviously trivial and has no other practical application?

This is research, working out what can be done and how. What that technology ends up in may be completely different, but the research is non the less useful.

[Colin Brett]

Missing from the end of the video

The gorillabot sits down and starts picking fleas off its programmer :-)

Colin

[Bigbadbod]

Its Gore!!

Can't believe nobody noticed it looks like a prototype of Gore from Zoids!!

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=gore,+zoids&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=SovNUYKFI-Kw0AWxnYHYBQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1440&bih=785

[StereoStokey]

Mini AT-AT?

Make it bigger, put some armor and laser cannons on it, and we're done!

[RonWheeler]

Can it

climb skyscrapers with a woman in hand and swat at planes?

[Neoc]

"...dubbed iStruct by its creators..."

iStruct? iStrut, surely.