A popular bird has landed at the university of michigan: a two-legged robot

A popular bird has landed at the University of Michigan: a two-legged robot named Cassie that researchers hope can be the forerunner of a machine that one day will help search-and-rescue efforts.

Cassie - whose name is derived from the cassowary, a flightless bird similar to an ostrich - stands on legs with backward-facing knees.

The biped that weighs about 66 pounds may not have feathers or a head, but she is attached to a short torso that holds motors, computers and batteries and is able to walk unassisted on rough and unven ground.

Cassie, which stands a bit over 3¼ feet at full leg extension, was built by Oregon's Agility Robotics and purchased by Michigan researchers using grant money from the National Science Foundation and Toyota Research Institute.

Although other institutions have acquired similar models, Michigan's team is excited about using its version to put the school's cutting-edge programming to the test, said Jessy Grizzle, director of Michigan Robotics.

"This stuff makes our old math look like child's play," said Grizzle.

Although there is much excitement about Cassie and the potential she represents, some real-world applications are still a bit out of reach.

Search-and-rescue "Is a hard problem and serves as a template for 'unsolved problems in robotics,' which is one of the reasons you see it pop up so much when robotics companies talk about applications," said Agility Robotics CEO Damion Shelton , who added that it is "Difficult to even speculate" when a robot can be used for such a purpose.

Other applications will be launched sooner, according to Shelton, who said a robot capable of walking around the perimeter of an industry by taking 3-D scans is no more than two years away from becoming reality.

For now, Grizzle and some of her students are putting Cassie through her paces on and around Michigan's Ann Arbor campus.

During a recent stroll on pedestrian walkway, Cassie ambled on a grassy, ​​sloped surface, then took a serious tumble and did a face-plant on the concrete.

"Well, I think that's the end" of the test, Grizzle said, as Cassie lay in a heap on the ground, slightly nicked and scratched but no worse for wear.

The programs Grizzle and his students tested "Are version 1.0," he said.

"They are simple algorithms to make sure we understand the robot. We will now focus on implementing our super-cool latest stuff," said Grizzle.