Freaky New Robot Adapts to ‘Injury’

November 18, 2006

A creepy but brainy new robot deals with injury or dismemberment by figuring out “mentally” (in software simulation) how to best CARRY ON WITHOUT THE DAMAGED LIMB. In tests, two of the robot’s four limbs were shortened, and it used rapid trial-and-error to figure out how to change it’s gait to keep moving. The research could lead to a software-based solution to space or war robots that get damaged, but still need to carry on their missions.