HyQ Robot's Animal-Like Step Reflex Revealed
Posted on March 18, 2014
HyQ is a quadruped robot developed by researchers at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT). HyQ stands for Hydraulically Actuated Quadruped. IIT researchers have developed technology that enables the robot to avoid stumbling by lifting up its front legs to step over obstacles.
IIT says, "During the leg's swing phase external forces on the foot are measured and observed. If a force acting against the motion of the foot is registered, a reflex can be triggered. Once the reflex is triggered the powerful hydraulic joints pull up the foot in less than 150ms."
Claudio Semini, the head of IIT's Dynamic Legged Systems Lab, told Automaton, that the robot's step reflex is showed in slow motion because the robot's reflex is so quick that you can't really see it at regular speed. Take a look: