Long distance robot
A robot called Ranger has set the ‘Untethered Walking’ record by walking 14.3 miles in around 11 hours.
The former record, 12.8 miles, was held by Boston Dynamics' BigDog.
Ranger made 108.5 laps (measuring about 212 metres each) of an indoor track at Cornell University’s Barton Hall – its controller used a simple toy remote. It made about 70,000 steps before it stopped to recharge.
The robot was built by a group of engineering students at Cornell, led by Andy Ruina, Cornell professor of theoretical and applied mechanics. The goal for Ranger was to display its energy efficiency – Ranger uses motors to control its every movement, which emulates human walking by using gravity and momentum to help it swing its legs forward.
According to Ruina, this record not only advances robotics, but helps undergraduate students learn about the mechanics of walking. The information could be applied to rehabilitation, prosthetics for humans and improving athletic performance.
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Date Published: July 30, 2010
