Dyret Quadruped Robot Can Adjust Its Body To The Environment
Dyret is a four-legged quadruped robot able to adjust the length of its legs to adapt its body to the surface it's operating on. As it adjusts its body, it learns what works best in certain situations and becomes better equipped next time it encounters an unknown environment. Dyret means "The Animal" in Norwegian and is an acronym for Dynamic Robot for Embodied Testing.Researchers say their testing has shown the benefits of allowing robots to continuously adapt their body shape. The robot also proves that allowing a robot to continually adapt its body shape can be accomplished using today's technology. In this case, the robot can adjust the length of its legs. Researchers on the project say that it was considered too hard to achieve a morphable robot in the past, but its experiments have shown that it is possible.
Changing the length of the legs of the robot allows it to transition to different body shapes. Robots that adapt this way can operate in unpredictable environments and solve tasks without being redesigned and rebuilt when they face something unexpected. One example of the usefulness of the robot is the improved ability for it to walk from concrete to grass.
The robot can use an integrated camera to see how rough the terrain is and sensors in the legs to feel how hard the walking surface is. The bot can continuously learn about the environment it's walking on and combine that with knowledge gained indoors in a controlled environment to adapt its body.
The first time Dyret walked on grass, it had never encountered the surface before, having only trained on gravel, sand, and concrete. However, it quickly learned how to walk on grass and the ideal leg length for the situation. Scientists on the project say walking on a flat lawn isn't the biggest challenge, but grass in nature is full of tufts and holes that can trap a long-legged robot. In such instances, it shortens its legs. The technology also allows the robot to learn to recover if one of its legs is damaged or breaks.