March of the robots in Science News

Science News surveys recent innovations in the way humanoid robots walk. There's an emerging approach to robotic locomotion based on a theory called passive dynamics. Seen here is Denise, a robot designed at Delft University, that leverages just a few well-placed motors to take energy-efficient strides. From Science News:

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The principles of passive-dynamic walking emerged in the late 1980s, pioneered by roboticist Tad McGeer, now with the InSitu Group in Bingen, Wash. While at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, McGeer showed that a humanlike frame can walk itself down a slope without requiring muscles or motors. Unlike traditional robots, which guzzle energy by using motors to control every motion, McGeer's early passive-dynamic robots relied only on gravity and the natural swinging of their limbs to move forward…

Although McGeer's entirely passive robot could walk only downhill, a new generation of related, mostly passive, machines uses small motors to navigate flat ground. Some roboticists still see these robots as toys that can't handle complex tasks. Others see them as a step toward more-sophisticated machines.

An increasing number of researchers say that the energy-efficient walkers are providing insight into human locomotion. Such devices may inspire new prosthetic-limb designs and eventually move robotics closer to science fiction's popular vision of ambulatory humanoids.

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