It weighs only 2.5 kilograms and is 70 centimeters high. But as the only robot in the world, he can do what has only been possible in sci-fi movies. Walk and fly. How it is possible is explained by his very name Leonardo – an acronym from the English “LEgs ONnboARD drOn”, which literally means legs on a drone.
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He has to strengthen and he will also get artificial intelligence
American scientists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) are mainly testing and calibrating the combination of both movements, which is why the prototype is so small. But Leo should get a proper and bigger body as soon as possible.
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The four rotors that provide flying are likely to remain, but are likely to be stronger. The robot’s legs should also be strengthened and, for example, the hands will be added. Even after two years, the scientists have reached a high sense of balance, the robot can balance on the tip of one leg, but also on the so-called slackline (flexible rope between the trees), or ride a skateboard.
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Scientists plan to equip the robot with artificial intelligence so that it can decide for itself when it will overcome obstacles and when it will fly. And he also used an algorithm to calculate which movement is the safest or when it will save the most energy, the magazine writes Designboom.
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Where could he work?
The new type of movement allows the robot “exceptional agility, and thus handles complex tasks,” adds the server Inceptive Mind. One day, Leo could help with high-altitude work, such as high-voltage poles and construction sites, or in searching for and intervening in hard-to-reach places after disasters.
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But its creators would like to see the robot on Mars, where NASA is now testing the use of an Ingenuity helicopter. US scientists from Caltech are excited about the idea that Leonardo would represent a new “kind” of robotic devices on another planet and manage exploration from both the ground and the air, adds the server CNET.
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