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Last time we wrote about the HyQ robot, it had just mastered walking and begun venturing into rough terrain. Now, its successor has do[sic] so with a three-ton passenger airplane in tow. Granted seven years of research and development have played out since, it is an impressive show of strength for hydraulically actuated robot not much bigger than a dog.
In its current form, HyQReal is 133 cm long and 90 cm tall (4.3 x 3 in)[sic *], while its total weight comes to 130 kg (287 lb). In the engine room is a 48-V battery that powers four electric motors, which hook up to four hydraulic pumps to make the robot move. A pair of computers, meanwhile, help the HyQReal navigate its surroundings.
A video of the towing effort is available on YouTube.
If they can figure out how to power it by digesting organic material, say, grass, then they will have invented the Clydesdale!
[*] 133 cm ~ 52 inches; 90 cm ~ 35 inches; I have absolutely no idea how the author came up with those conversions! --martyb
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Tuesday May 28 2019, @09:09AM (4 children)
Agreed - it's some marketing intern's idea of a good advertising video. The actual content (robot pulling plane) is the smallest portion of the time - the rest is fluff. Anyway, there's nothing hugely special about pulling a plane. It's on wheels, on a flat surface - there's nothing particularly difficult about this.
I've seen several videos of their robots, and some are quite impressive. This dog robot is...odd. It seems to have relatively little range of motion in its legs, it moves awkwardly, and yet...its appearance is subliminally disturbing. I can't put my finger on it, but I'd rather watch their Terminator-like humanoid robot.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 28 2019, @09:40AM (3 children)
Agreed about "nothing special". Over the years, I've read blurbs, and seen videos of impressive feats of towing. The first one I found on Youtube is this - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glv_4900xIM [youtube.com]
One memorable story, was a guy who pulled an 18-wheeler some distance (100 feet, maybe?) with a line held between his teeth. I think the truck was unloaded, still, something close to 30,000 pounds.
Better video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlA8KROPUQs [youtube.com] although the dude is working overly hard. He needs to figure a way to KEEP the wheels rolling once the begin to turn - here, he has to overcome inertia repeatedly.
This guy seems to have a better grip on the concept - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esIVWDDJ1UA [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 28 2019, @12:34PM (2 children)
Ah, but you missed the really good, manly, sport of towing by the testicles! Here's one,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWsQnQImlTI [youtube.com]
This seems to go way back in Asia/India, have seen other things dragged in this manner as well.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday May 28 2019, @12:37PM (1 child)
That hurts just to watch!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 28 2019, @01:30PM
Not a manly man?