Watch: MIT's 'robo-dogs' playing soccer, flipping (and tripping) excitedly
Just like Boston Dynamics, the folks at MIT have also been working on four-legged 'mini cheetah' robots. The institute has showcased the dog-like machines quite a few times, but this time around, it has put up an adorable display of a complete herd of cheetah bots. They can be seen running excitedly, tripping, and playing soccer together! Let's take a look.
Cheetah robots playing soccer together
Just recently, MIT released a video featuring a herd of as many as 9 mini cheetah robots running around the campus. The bots are seen prancing out of a pile of leaves, flipping continuously, as well as playing soccer - juggling with the ball while running on the field. They even executed coordinated movements while performing the activities.
Plus, they got up on their own after tripping
Along with the coordinated set of actions, the thing that drew most of our attention was the ability of the bots to recover. If the machines fell/tripped while prancing or flipping, they simply rolled over and stabilized their actuated legs and got back up again. This, in particular, highlights how cheetah would be able to handle errors while operating in controlled warehouse environments.
How 'mini cheetah' achieves these capabilities?
The MIT researchers, who designed mini cheetah, claim that the machine uses 3D vision cameras and 12 electric motors, 3 in each leg, to execute the expansive range of actions. The motors, as they said, power the machine, helping it bend (at joints) and swing its legs, change directions, and make high-force impacts without any damage.
What else this robot can do?
In previous clips, we've seen that mini cheetah can run at a speed of up to 8kmph, walk both right-side-up and upside down, and withstand direct kicks. It weighs a little less than 10kg and is far more customizable and affordable than Cheetah 3, a similar robot that is way bigger and difficult to produce than this one.
