2011年10月26日星期三

Japanese Robot Zombie Walks Without Power, Brain, Mercy

Before reading this post, I recommend you set the scene by listening to the theme from Terminator 2. If you have Spotify, here's the track. I'll wait.

Now, watch this:

Researchers in the Sano Lab, at the Nagoya Institute of Technology in Japan, have built a robot that can walk forever without power, sensors or even an electronic brain. It is powered solely by the potential energy acquired by strolling downhill.

Instead of a regular bipedal gait, the robot has two sets of two legs, in inner and outer pairs. It moves forward by falling and then catching itself, powered by gravity.

The researchers hope to make this commercially available in a couple of years as an aid for those who have difficulty walking. I have trouble seeing any further than total robot apocalypse, but I've always been cynical.

Then again, I guess it won't be too hard to escape these malevolent marching hordes — just make sure you run uphill. In fact, it can't be long before they all end up in the Dead Sea in Israel, which — at 424 meters or 1,391 feet below sea level — is the lowest point on Earth.

Passive Walking Robot Propelled By Its Own Weight [DigInfo TV]

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