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News about Legged Robots & Exoskeletons
Mammal-like tails most promising for acrobatic robots
February 12, 2025
Roboticists have preferred the simplicity of lizard-like tails, but mammal-style tails may be both lighter and higher performance for turning a robot's body in space.
A smaller, simpler bipedal robot student project
November 11, 2024
A 3D-printed bipedal robot inspired by the design of a commercial-scale robot aims to provide an open-source platform for studying and applying reinforcement learning.
Versatile knee exo for safer lifting
September 18, 2024
Helping out the quad muscles kept study participants lifting safely despite fatigue, with an algorithm that smoothly shifts between lifting and carrying tasks.
Enhancing humanoid robot actuator design in new $1.2M project
August 29, 2024
Researchers at the University of Michigan have been awarded a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to enhance the design of humanoid legged robots, enabling their use in demanding situations such as warehouse labor and emergency response.
Simulation training improves performance in robotic exoskeletons
June 13, 2024
Researchers at North Carolina State University have demonstrated a new method that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and computer simulations to train robotic exoskeletons to autonomously help users save energy for versatile activities such as walking, running, and climbing stairs.
Even robots make mistakes: How humans walk with imperfect exoskeletons
March 12, 2024
When a lower limb exoskeleton does not operate properly, some users recover their step quickly while others overcompensate with their hip or ankle. Credit: Brenda Ahearn, Michigan Engineering.
Choosing exoskeleton settings like a Pandora radio station
October 19, 2023
A team of engineers at the University of Michigan, Google and Georgia Tech has designed the simplest way for users to program their own exoskeleton assistance settings.
How evolution overshot the optimum bone structure in jerboas
October 17, 2022
Foot bones that are separate in small hopping rodents are fused in their larger cousins, and a team of researchers at the University of Michigan and University of California, San Diego, wanted to know why.
How we can better link mind and machine
July 28, 2022
A team led by University of Michigan researchers recently tested how exoskeleton users responded to the task of matching haptic feedback to the timing of each footstep.
Exoskeletons with personalize-your-own settings
March 30, 2022
Researchers gave users direct control to customize the behavior of an ankle exoskeleton.
$1M for open-source first-responder robots
September 16, 2021
Tomorrow’s wildfire fighters and other first responders may tag-team with robotic assistants that can hike through wilderness areas and disaster zones, thanks to a University of Michigan research project.
Taking an exoskeleton from ‘ready, set’ to go
March 5, 2021
An exoskeleton user can now go from sitting to standing safely and without assistance.