EngineAI PM01: First humanoid robot to perform a forward somersault
EngineAI has managed to teach its humanoid robot PM01 to perform a forward somersault. No other humanoid robot has ever managed this before.
The humanoid robot PM01 plunges headfirst into a front flip.
(Image: EngineAI)
The Chinese robotics company Zhongqing Robotics, which also operates under the name EngineAI, has had its humanoid robot PM01 perform a forward somersault. This is the first humanoid robot in the world to achieve this feat.
Several humanoid robots, such as the Unitree H1 and Atlas from Boston Dynamics, can now perform a backflip. The hydraulic version of Atlas was the first humanoid robot to achieve this in 2017. Later also with a twist in between.
However, a forward somersault places higher demands on the agility of a robot and its perceptive abilities. It is the same as with human gymnasts: it is easier for them to perform a backflip than a front flip. This is partly because a forward somersault uses muscle groups that are normally used less, such as the abdominal muscles and hip flexors. Perception also plays a role. In a front flip, you quickly lose sight of the ground after the jump, so you land in uncertainty. This means that it takes more effort for human gymnasts to perform a forward somersault.
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Humanoid robots are not afraid, but the corresponding actuators of the joints required for the feat must be agile enough and able to exert sufficient force to perform the somersault. The robot's perceptual capabilities must also be designed in such a way that it can correctly calculate the landing to land safely in a standing position again.
Open-source robot
Apparently, the engineers at EngineAI have succeeded. They have equipped their 1.38 m tall and approximately 40 kg heavy PM01 robot with actuators that can apply up to 300 Nm of torque and also react quickly enough to perform compensatory movements in real time. The robot has more than 23 degrees of freedom, five in the arms and six in the legs alone. The degrees of freedom of the hands are not yet included in the more than 23 degrees of freedom.
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In addition to the hardware, the roboticists at EngineAI have used artificial intelligence (AI) to coordinate the entire process so that the PM01 can exert enough force to take off and rotate forwards in the air. This must also be precisely controlled. This is the only way to ensure that the robot can land on its feet again.
The PM01 humanoid robot is open source. A finished model is already available from EngineAI and costs the equivalent of 13,700 US dollars.
(olb)
