
Two-legged robot mimics human balance while running and jumping - jpm_sd
http://news.mit.edu/2019/two-legged-robot-mimics-human-balance-while-running-jumping-1030
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clairity
while the headline is technically correctly phrased, it buries the lede on the
interesting bit here: the bi-directional feedback mechanism. robots that
walk/run/jump like humans have existed for decades, but a bipedal robot that
literally mimics the movements of a particular human, and sends force feedback
to that human for real-time control is novel. that’s the neat part.

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jcims
I subscribe to a small channel on YouTube and the channel owner had a very
impressive demo of low latency bi-directional teleoperation. He's got some
Cheetah vids so I'm guessing he at least contributed some code here if not
control/hardware.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnQGPGG-
vuQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnQGPGG-vuQ)

I feel creepy posting this for some reason but if you have even an inkling of
the complexity it's a crazy demo that I had to share lol.

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snops
That channel owner, Ben Katz did the mechanical hardware, motor control PCB +
firmware for the MIT Mini Cheetah as part of his PhD, here is his blog post on
it[1], which links to a full technical report. The latest firmware is here [2]

[1] [http://build-its-inprogress.blogspot.com/2019/03/hello-
there...](http://build-its-inprogress.blogspot.com/2019/03/hello-there-mini-
cheetah.html)

[2]
[https://os.mbed.com/users/benkatz/code/Hobbyking_Cheetah_Com...](https://os.mbed.com/users/benkatz/code/Hobbyking_Cheetah_Compact_DRV8323/rev/6cd89bd6fcaa/)

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jcims
Ah! That links to the thesis folks were talking about in the comments. Thank
you!!!

Also, geez. That's a lot of (very impressive) work.

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Pfhreak
If you made a robot big enough to carry the human (and the human
sensing/feedback machinery), you'd basically have Battletech, right?

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calibas
Or instead of giant death robots, you could have remote-controlled first
responders. They could be dispatched quickly by drone and not put a human at
risk.

Personally, I'm most excited about the possibility of robot backup dancers.

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PhasmaFelis
I love fictional giant deathbots. In reality, I'd be happier with giant robot
gladiator fights.

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ralusek
The important thing is that it's not taking jobs.

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plq
I like how they treat the robots and the human on equal terms in the photo
label :) No need for a second renaissance anyway.

