Walking Robot Legs Made to Reproduce Human Gait
http://medgadget.com/2012/07/walking-ro ... -gait.html
NHEEngineers at University of Arizona have developed a pair of robotic legs that they claim are the world’s most accurate representations of the real things. Though they don’t actually walk on their own and are suspended with a harness, the motion of the various parts of the machine was meticulously modeled on the neuromuscular anatomy of human legs.
Not only was the physical anatomy of the legs reproduced, but so was the central pattern generator (CPG), a neural network that triggers repetitive muscle movements, mimicked to activate the robot’s muscle movements. Though there’s a lot of technology here, but the video of the robot below reveals that it still looks a bit clumsy and not yet ready to tango. The hope is that the robot will help researchers learn more about how we learn to walk and may assist in developing new therapies for the disabled and people with gait problems.
