CalTech's Leonardo robot can manage tricks that are beyond most others, being able to walk, fly, and even ride a skateboard. While lightweight, bipedal robots that stand upright tend to be unsteady, researchers from the California Institute of Technology have come up with a unique solution to the problem of balancing and navigating difficult terrain. Leonardo is still in the prototype stage but is already helping to advance knowledge about hybrid movement.
Robots are being designed with legs so that they can handle different types of terrain while minimizing energy use, which limits both the range and carrying capacity of a flying robot or drone. Rather than simply increasing the size of drones and adding larger batteries, ground-based solutions might solve those issues. However, even the most surefooted walking robot would still have trouble with tall obstacles, unsteady ground, or flooring.
CalTech's LEONARDO, an acronym of LEgs ONboARD drOne, manages to address both concerns, walking across the ground when that is the best solution or taking to the air to easily float down a flight of stairs. Standing two and a half feet tall, LEO balances on two ted legs using four propeller thrusters placed at an angle at each shoulder. While LEO is just a prototype and not the pinnacle of what a hybrid flying and walking robot can achieve, it already boasts several impressive skills, such as walking a slackline, riding a skateboard, as shown in CalTech's Using drone-like propellers, the bot can stabilize itself in all of these challenging conditions. The scientific paper appeared in Science Robotics.
Benefits Of Robots With Propellers & Legs
CalTech's hybrid drone/bot LEO isn't alone as a robot that has both propellers and legs. A one-legged, jumping robot was created in 2016 and later updated with thrusters to add more control and lift for consecutive jumps. A couple of other designs with two legs and thrusters exist but they focus on flying or walking and not combined use, making LEO somewhat unique. By using either mode of operation when appropriate, a future incarnation of LEO has the potential to excel at energy efficiency. In the prototype stage that isn't the primary focus, however.
Possible uses of walking and flying robots Robotics technology continues to advance at a rapid pace and CalTech's Leonardo takes an innovative approach that might speed up research on hybrid bots that combine the flying ability of a drone with the walking skills of a bipedal robot.
Source: CalTech/YouTube, Science Robotics
