This robot published in Nature Communications creates the possibility for Transformers to come to reality

Is there a new mode of transportation that can solve the "people follow the herd" mode of traveling during peak hours and completely solve the problem of traffic congestion?

I believe many people have thought about this issue when encountering "traffic jams" or "crowds". Turning cars into Transformers and transcending vehicles may be the idea of ​​​​most people.

Recently, "Nature Communications" published an M4 (Multi-modal mobile transforming robot Morphobot) that is very consistent with people's fantasies about future transportation tools.

It is reported that M4 was jointly developed by the California Institute of Technology and Northeastern University in the United States, with the intention of producing a robot that can have wide range of motion plasticity in an unstructured, multi-matrix environment. The robot has extraordinary mobility and has the possibility of multi-modal composite cross-border movement in the future.

Many human robot designs are inspired by animal bionics. In nature, aquatic animals such as sea turtles and sea lions use their front fins to swim, and they can also use their front fins to support their heavy weight and walk on the ground like quadrupeds; meerkats use their four limbs to run and walk, and they can also stand on their hind legs to scout their surroundings; Young musk pheasants use their wings to fly and can also use their wings to assist in climbing up vertical or steep slopes for refuge.

Sea lion's flippers assist walking b Meerkat's hind limbs assist reconnaissance c Pheasant chicks use wings to assist quadrupedal movement d Chukar bird wings assist tilted walking

The joint team from the California Institute of Technology and Northeastern University was also inspired by these animals with considerable motor plasticity, and with reference to these animals using their morphological and functional structures to repurpose their appendages, they created a device that can be used when needed. Create (or eliminate) redundancy and gain mobile advantage” thinking.

At the same time, the R&D team also implemented this idea on the M4 robot, allowing the four legs of the M4 robot to perform redundant operations through deformation to maximize motion plasticity.

Through re-adjustment, the four legs of the M4 can have several different forms:

lFour legs for quadrupedal locomotion

lFour thrusters for flight

lTwo propellers and two wheels for WAIR on 45 degree slopes

lTwo propellers and two wheels for climbing over large obstacles

lTwo wheels and two hands for motorcycle control

lMIP’s Two Wheels

lUGV four wheels

lFour wheels for crouching

The attachments at the bottom of the chassis can be re-adjusted into wheels, legs or propellers. The realization of this modular design provides important conditions for improving the performance of the M4.

When the M4 needs to stand on two wheels, two of the four wheels fold up and their built-in propellers spin upward to provide balance for the robot.

When M4 needs to fly, all four wheels are folded and the propellers lift the robot off the ground.

The M4 robot flies via four rotors within its tilt wheels

The joint design on the wheel assembly also allows the M4 to perform walking movements.

It’s just that in the current iteration of the M4, the walking action is mainly a proof of concept. In the future, the M4 generation is expected to have the ability to effectively traverse complex terrain that is difficult to walk on, something that is difficult for walking robots to achieve.

M4 robot changes from driving mode to walking mode

It is understood that M4’s movement postures include eight different types: flying, rolling, crawling, crouching, balancing, rolling, reconnaissance, and local operation. Various movement modes can be performed with the help of redundant operations reused by appendages. By repurposing appendages with a morphing fuselage and switchable shrouded propellers, the M4 can switch to an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), a mobile inverted pendulum (MIP), an unmanned aerial system (UAS), a thruster-assisted MIP, Leg locomotion and motorcycle maneuvering MIP mode.

In addition to its excellent mobility, the M4 R&D team also added artificial intelligence that gives it a "soul". It combines the robot's movement flexibility with artificial intelligence, allowing M4 to independently choose the most effective one based on the terrain ahead. form of movement.

For example, in an unfamiliar environment, M4 will first start in the most energy-saving four-wheel rolling mode. When encountering obstacles such as boulders, the M4 will switch to standing mode and use its integrated sensors to conduct multi-purpose scanning of the area for aerial survey and reconnaissance, thereby providing key strategic situational awareness.

When encountering a canyon or other feature that a wheeled robot cannot traverse, the M4 will reconfigure its wheels into rotors, fly across the canyon to the other side, and then continue rolling.

When asked about his views on the multi-modal mobile transforming robot M4 jointly developed by Caltech and Northeastern University, Hans W. Lipman, director of the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technology (CAST) at Caltech Professor Mory Gharib (Ph.D. ’83) said: “The current transcendent performance of M4 provides more possibilities for the expansion of its application fields. In addition to emergency rescue, M4 may further be used in search, space exploration, and residential space. Other areas such as automated parcel handling and digital agriculture play a greater role.”

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