New Bipedal Robot Is All Legs
DARPA champion SCHAFT is showing off again
At the New Economic Summit Conference in Tokyo, where Andy Rubin, the former head of Google’s robotics program, was a keynote speaker, a new bipedal robot put in an appearance as well.
Created by SCHAFT, one of the many robotics companies Google (now known as Alphabet) has acquired over the years, the unnamed bot looks like a pair of body-less legs. In a video taken by an audience member, we can see it navigate grassy terrain, carry a barbell, avoid stumbling on a slippery pipe, and even vacuum a set of stairs.
SCHAFT’s humanoid robot was a standout in the 2013 DARPA Robotics Challenge, obliterating the rest of the competition by many points.
SCHAFT was pulled from the 2015 DRC Finals, and Alphabet has been pretty hush-hush about it since then dominance. If this new update is any indication, more exciting robotics innovation is yet to come. Watch the reveal below:
