LiveScience reports on Chinese firm DEEP Robotics’ answer to Big Dog – a robot they named “Lynx” that can crawl up hills with long, jointed legs, and then roll down with wheels for feet. For anyone who’s seen the cult classic RETURN TO OZ film, they look like a cross between that movie’s nightmarishly absurd Wheelers and the killer cyborgs from THE TERMINATOR. But the animal-like rolling robot appears to be very well-adapted to almost any kind of terrain:
In a promotional video released Nov. 13, the Lynx model rolls at high speed on “two feet” down a wooded incline, scrambles up a 30-inch (80 centimeters) rock wall and even drives down a 50-degree, uneven slope covered with rocks and shrubs.
A key feature is the Lynx’s ability to travel on both two and four legs, all of which are topped with wheels bearing thick, offroading tires. This enables it to move in the manner most suitable to its situation.
For example, when scrambling across an incline in the video, the robot hops along the ground on two legs, while on a dirt track, it speeds along on all four wheels. At top speed, the Lynx can travel at 11 mph (18 km/h) and can jump steps up to 9 inches (22 centimeters) high.
A high-definition camera sits on top of the robot that live-streams video back to its operators — which could help it complete tasks such as remote inspection of field machinery or a security patrol along a pre-defined border.
DEEP Robotics also uses a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) platform for its robots, which is known as “DEEP Robotics AI+.” The company says the AI uses reinforcement learning — a machine learning training technique — to help the robot overcome obstacles such as walls
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You can see the DEEP Robotics Lynx video climbing and rolling around some rugged woodland terrain here.