Sending a Robot into the World
January 8th, 2008
Controlling a robot in a confined area is easy enough but may still hold some surprises and unexpected twists. Letting a robot move in the real world is a lot trickier as there will be some obstacles that need to be overcome to accomplish it. The first obstacle is providing a working locomotion system. Choices may range from wheels and tracks for smooth ground or a rougher terrain if they are big enough, to legs that are more adaptable and is a natural exercise in biological research.
Mobile robots should have their own built-in balance system that would tell the computer when movements need to be corrected. Walking on two legs is inherently unstable thus robot designers would commonly look to the animal world for inspiration.