Robots on the march to walking like humans | The University of Manchester

A psychological theory could kickstart improvements in the way robots are able to walk, thanks to a University of Manchester study, continues The University of Manchester.

Robot big
Photo: The University of Manchester

The study - a unique collaboration between a clinical psychologist, robotics engineers and a robotics entrepreneur is published in the Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems today.

It analysed what happens when standard algorithms driving a self-balancing robot - made from simple Lego - were replaced with those based on ‘perceptual control theory’.

The theory was encoded into the little droid, allowing it to control what it sensed so that it moved around more effectively, just as humans and other animals can.

Though the robot moves on two wheels, it is an ‘inverted pendulum’, which requires nimble balancing in a similar way to how our bodies are kept upright when we walk.

So, the better the robot can balance, the better prepared it will be for walking like a human...

Dr Simon Watson, Senior Lecturer in Robotic Systems at The University of Manchester said: “Nature has developed the most complex machines we know, so being able to implement algorithms inspired by them is an important step in our own creative development capability.

Thomas Johnson, the PhD student who built and tested the robot said “This work has demonstrated the success of controlling robots with perceptual control theory. This paper is a demonstration of how engineers in robotics can find inspiration from the living world.”
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Source: The University of Manchester