He walks, rolls and even flies! Meet the robot that does it all

The newly created robot is able to reshape its body to achieve eight different types of movement. In addition, he can independently assess the environment to choose the most effective combination of movements for maneuver.

The M4 (Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot) can roll on four wheels, turn wheels into spinners and fly, stand on two wheels to spy on obstacles, walk using its wheels as feet, use two spinners to help it roll, flip over, and much more. The robot is the brainchild of Gharib and Alireza Ramzani, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Northeastern University in the US. The support team included researchers from other famous institutions, such as Caltech (California Institute of Technology).

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An article announcing the new robot was published in Nature Communications on Tuesday (27). According to the creators of the technology, M4 can work from transporting injured people to a hospital to exploring other planets.

Infinite robot

• The flexibility of the robot’s movement, combined with artificial intelligence, allows it to choose the form of movement that will be most effective based on the terrain in front of it.
• To explore an unfamiliar environment, he may start rolling on all fours, which is his most energy-efficient mode. Upon reaching an obstacle such as a rock, the M4 can go on two wheels to overtake it to get a clearer picture of the ground ahead. Then, if it sees a valley or other feature that the wheeled robot can’t cross, it can reconfigure its wheels into roundabouts, fly over the valley to the other side, and roll again.
• One of the main features of the robot is its ability to redirect its attachments into wheels, legs or pushers. When the M4 needs to stand on two wheels, two of its four wheels fold up and the built-in pushers spin upwards, providing balance for the robot. When the M4 needs to fly, all four wheels fold up and the thrusters lift the robot off the ground.
• The knuckles in the wheel assemblies still allow the M4 to perform a trailing motion. However, with expected advances in technology, future generations of robots could have the ability to walk effectively across broken terrain.
• The M4’s design was influenced by nature: It’s inspired by how chukars (a type of grouse) use to flap their wings to give them power while running up steep inclines, for example, and how sea lions use their flippers for different types of locomotion at sea and on land.
• The M4 is equipped with autonomous capabilities and can make decisions on its own about how best to navigate a complex environment.

with information from TechXplore.

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