Quadruped robots are getting more agile and smarter all the time. Researchers are always testing them in different environments to identify and fix their shortcomings. This video from IEEE Spectrum shows an agility course, named Barkour, developed by google DeepMind researchers. It is designed to test and improve 4-legged robots.
This is the TJ-FlyingFish: a aerial aquatic drone with a tiltable propulsion system that can fly in the air and perform exploration under water. It rotates its fuselage for lateral movement. It can then return to the surface and take off. It achieves movement by tilting its rotors.
[Credit: Xuchen Liu, Minghao Dou, Dongyue Huang, Songqun Gao, Ruixin Yan, Biao Wang, Jinqiang Cui, Qinyuan Ren, Lihua Dou, Zhi Gao, Jie Chen, and Ben M. Chen from Shanghai Research Institute for Intelligent Autonomous Systems, Tongji University, Shanghai, China; Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China; Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China; and Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, China.]
Here is another cool transformer robot from Robosen: the Optimus Prime Rise of the Beast robot supports manual and block based programming. It measures 16 inches tall. It has 69 microchips, 21 high-precision servo motors and over 40 motion mechanism. It has a stand that enables the robot to do aerial maneuvers.
This is the Phill Robot from Philon Labs: an app connected AI powered massage robot with interchangeable massage heads. It is pretty simple to use too: you simply have to connect it to your phone, let it scan your back, choose the pattern that works for you, and the rest is easy.
This is the MTRS Inc II: a man transportable robotic system for standoff situations and disposal of hazardous chemicals. It can be used to locate and clear landmines. It has a handheld controller that displays video and data from the robot. This robot has a 5-DODF manipulator arm that pivots 360 degrees.
This is the Freelander 02: an inchworm inspired robot that can move on pipes and even climb them. It can also get around obstacles. It can transition from horizontal to vertical pipes seamlessly. The below video shows it in action:
[Credit: IEEE Spectrum]
This is the Flipbot: a robotic system that relies on a depth camera, force/torque sensor, and soft gripper to continuously flip the pages of a book. As you can see in the below video, this robot can handle a variety of paper, including coated paper. This robot also has a simple mechanism to hold the pages in place.
This is the AngGo: a shared indoor mobility device that can avoid obstacles using 6 ToF sensors. It can detect obstacles up to 4m away to operate safely around humans. In autonomous mode, it can find people who need a ride. This robot has room in its compartment for books and other items. Users can sit on it to get a ride.
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This is the GEON E61 Autonomous Drone: a flying robot with unexploded ordnance detection technology that can help with handling dangerous explosive remnants of war. It can collect the GPS coordinates of metallic objects for EOD personnel. Flight plans can be configured with smartphone or tablet apps.
This drone is capable of avoiding obstacles in its path. It uses onboard LIDAR, SONAR, and radar sensors fly with centimeter precision. You can find out more about it here.
Meet the Mecabot Pro Xavier NX: an autonomous mobile platform for research and development. This ROS1 and ROS2 compatible robot has mecanum wheels. It comes with a 3D Leishen C16 LiDAR and Orbbec Depth Camera. Its battery life lasts up to 4 hours (2.5 hours with full load).
