Photos: Simple robots take a hike
MIT, Cornell and Delft University of Technology projects are attempting to build simple robots that walk like humans.
Simple robots take a hike
MIT's Toddler is a robot that mimics the gait and control of human walking. Through software it can teach itself to walk in less than 20 minutes, or about 600 steps.
Credit: MIT
Simple robots take a hike
Researchers at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have built Denise, a robot that walks with two legs. It has knees, an upper body, and two counterswinging arms. Its ankles help with stability.
Credit: Delft Biorobotics Laboratory
Simple robots take a hike
Cornell University researchers claim their biped walking robot is "at least 10 times more efficient than anybody else's." They say it uses about the same amount of enery as a human--as opposed to Honda's Asimo, which uses 10 times more energy than a walking human.
Credit: Cornell University
Simple robots take a hike
Butch, a mechanical protoceratops designed and built by Pete Dilworth, has taken its first steps.
Credit: MIT
Simple robots take a hike
This basic walker has only a passive joint at the hip. The curvature of the feet allows it to keep its balance and walk down a small incline.
Credit: MIT
Simple robots take a hike
This little headless, two-legged robot was built with Tinkertoys and developed at Cornell in 1998. It can walk, wobble and stagger, but if it stops moving, it falls over.
Credit: Cornell University
