Berkeley have developed a pogo-like robot with just a single leg.
The diminutive robot is called SALTO, for Saltatorial Agile Locomotion on Terrain Obstacles.
(“Saltatorial” is the scientific name for the locomotion style used by kangaroos, grasshoppers and rabbits.)
The thinking behind the robot’s small size and unusual movement style is that it can travel through challenging terrain.
In order to achieve a moon-ready robot, the researchers reckon SALTO must be able to land on small targets with pinpoint accuracy.
In order to walk or roll, robots usually have legs or wheels. But scientists at U. C. With only one leg, Berkeley has created a robot that resembles a pogo. It moves by hopping at speeds of up to eight miles per hour.
The small robot is known as Saltatorial Agile Locomotion on Terrain Obstacles, or SALTO. The scientific term “saltatorial” refers to the way that rabbits, grasshoppers, and kangaroos move. The robot’s small size and unique movement style are intended to allow it to navigate difficult terrain. According to Justin Yim, a robotics graduate from UC Berkeley, “small robots are really great for a lot of things, like running around in places where larger robots or humans can’t fit.”.
For instance, in a disaster situation where people may be buried beneath debris, robots could be extremely helpful in locating the individuals without endangering rescuers and possibly even quicker than they could have done on their own. In order for Salto to maneuver through these challenging areas, we wanted it to be small but also capable of leaping very high and swiftly. “.
When the robot’s development first began in 2016, that was its primary objective. Now, almost ten years later, there is another possible use for it. According to Robert Sanders of U. C. According to Berkeley Research, “Yim is starting a NASA-funded project to create a tiny, one-legged robot that could travel a football field on a single hop and explore Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, where the gravity is one-eighth that of Earth. “..”.
The researchers believe SALTO needs to be able to land on small targets with pinpoint accuracy in order to become a robot that is ready for the moon. They’ve turned to squirrels because of their ability to jump great distances and land precisely on branches. They have added a grasping claw and a propeller-like flywheel to SALTO, which aids in the robot’s ability to change its attitude, after researching the leaping mechanics of squirrels.
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Yim explains that it is more efficient for the robot to have a single leg rather than multiples. “The best number for jumping is one leg; if you don’t split that power between several devices, you can exert the most force on that one leg. Additionally, as you jump higher, the disadvantages of using just one leg decrease. There is only one gait that occurs when you jump many, many times as high as your legs: the gait where each leg touches the ground simultaneously and each leg lifts off the ground at roughly the same moment. At that point, having several legs is similar to having just one. You might as well use the one. “,”.
It’s important to note that researchers from two very different disciplines worked together to develop SALTO: engineer students from Berkeley’s Biomimetic Millisystems Lab and biology students from the PolyPedal Lab. This exemplifies how two disparate fields can collaborate to produce genuine innovation.
