Balancing on two legs with wheels for feet, Boston Dynamics’ Handle robot looks a bit like it’s rollerblading in a science fiction movie. Watch it roll down stairs, carry 45kg of stuff, and leap over hurdles. Yes, it leaps.
Handle is a research robot that stands 6.5 ft tall, travels at 9 mph and jumps 4 feet vertically. It uses electric power to operate both electric and hydraulic actuators, with a range of about 15 miles on one battery charge. Handle uses many of the same dynamics, balance and mobile manipulation principles found in the quadruped and biped robots we build, but with only about 10 actuated joints, it is significantly less complex. Wheels are efficient on flat surfaces while legs can go almost anywhere: by combining wheels and legs Handle can have the best of both worlds.
Read more at spectrum.ieee.org.
Boston Dynamics has been wowing the internet with their robotic creatures for years. In the archives: The incredible jumping Sand Flea robot, the Cheetah Robot, and the next generation of Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot.
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