Meet Leonardo, Caltech’s Bipedal Flying Robot, Image/YouTube/Caltech
Researchers at Caltech have built a bipedal robot that combines walking with flying to create a new type of locomotion, making it extremely nimble and capable of complex movements:
We present the design and control of a multimodal locomotion robotic platform called LEONARDO, which bridges the gap between two different locomotion regimes of flying and walking using synchronized control of distributed electric thrusters and a pair of multijoint legs. By combining two distinct locomotion mechanisms, LEONARDO achieves complex maneuvers that require delicate balancing, such as walking on a slackline and skateboarding, which are challenging for existing bipedal robots.
Part walking robot and part flying drone, the newly developed LEONARDO (short for LEgs ONboARD drOne, or LEO for short) can walk a slackline, hop, and even ride a skateboard. Developed by a team at Caltech’s Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST), LEO is the first robot that uses multi-joint legs and propeller-based thrusters to achieve its balancing act.
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A paper about the LEO robot was published online October 6, and is featured on the October 2021 cover of Science Robotics.
