Record: Robot dog completes full marathon distance in one go for the first time
A robot dog has run a marathon in one piece for the first time. A record, as the developers say.
KAIST's Raibo2 robot dog after the marathon.
(Image: KAIST)
A Raibo2 robot dog developed by the South Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) took part in the 22nd Sangju Dried Persimmon Marathon, completing the 42.195 km distance on a single charge. This was announced by KAIST on Sunday. The team had improved the running efficiency in advance and thus set the record of having developed the first robot dog to complete a full marathon distance in one go.
To anticipate this: Raibo2 is not yet a threat to a human runner over the marathon distance. The robot dog covered the 42.195 km distance in 4 hours, 19 minutes and 52 seconds. The first-placed human marathon runner took just 2 hours, 36 minutes and 32 seconds.
The course of the 22nd Sangju Dried Persimmon Marathon was challenging. It featured two 50-meter-high climbs at kilometers 14 and 28, which presented the robot dog with a number of challenges in order to make do with the available energy.
In order to avoid any loss of performance, the research team led by Je Min Hwangbo, professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at KAIST, trimmed Raibo2 for the best possible running efficiency. The focus was only secondarily on speed.
Improving running efficiency
The scientists use their own simulation environment, RaiSim, to train the running control. The simulator can be used to train and test reinforcement learning algorithms. The research team was thus able to train the robot dog to run in a stable and energy-efficient manner. The robot can use this trained walking control to move safely over various terrain formations, such as slopes and stairs, and even on icy roads.
The science team has also equipped it with a special articulated mechanism. It allows part of the energy expended to be recovered on downhill slopes – in a similar way to how recuperation works in electric cars.
The researchers also succeeded in reducing the collision energy of the robot's feet. The periodic impacts when the feet come into contact with the surface were reduced, as was the slip that occurs when the foot is pushed off the surface to propel the body forward. The system used for this comes from Raion Robotics, with which the running efficiency could be "significantly increased", as the scientists reported.
The efforts to improve the walking system as a whole were only possible because all parts and the software, including the robot dog's artificial intelligence (AI), were developed in-house. This means that any problems that arise can be solved more quickly and comprehensively. This also includes technical measures to further minimize drive losses. This also ensured that efficiency and stability when walking could be increased.
The KAIST research team intends to further optimize the walking control. The aim is that the robot dog can also be used for other tasks. These include delivery and patrol services, for example. To this end, Raibo2 is to be equipped with autonomous navigation functions.
(olb)