Cockroaches, Trains and Tanks Help Army Scientists Build Better Legged Robots

New research by Army scientists could lead to legged robots that are as efficient as wheeled or tracked battle buddies — a boon for dismounted infantry in rugged terrain, such as mountains or cluttered urban streets. That research was recently put together from digging through decades-old data on studying how mass, speed and power of animals could be measured. The research and formula that emerged were recently published in a paper in the peer-reviewed scientific journal PLOS ONE. The formula is important because it shows the same trend lines for how mass, power and speed relate to each other — regardless of whether what’s being measured is a cockroach or a tank. Researchers Alexander Kott, Sean Gart and Jason Pusey, all with the Army Research Laboratory, co-authored the paper that could contribute to future robotic vehicle development. For more background, please see the Armytimes.com report.

Thanks to CDR David Place (USN/Ret), davidplace47[at]gmail[dot]com, and Robin E. Alexander, President ATC, alexander technical[at]gmail[dot]com, for their assistance with this report, the background for which appeared in their  # 21 - 15 - 12 JUNE 2021 edition of the UNMANNED SYSTEMS NEWS (USN).

David distributes the USN, a free, comprehensive newsletter in PDF format every week or two, as well as serial news flashes, from which this NREF news update was sourced. To be included in his distribution, simply send David a subscribe request to davidplace47[at]gmail[dot]com.