Italian researchers are currently working on a humanoid robot with a jetpack. He should soon make his first flight as Iron Man and could eventually intervene at the scene of disaster.
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[EN VIDÉO] Interview: why build humanoid robots? The android is arguably the most mechanically complex type of robot. Futura-Sciences interviewed Jean-Claude Heudin, director of the research laboratory of the IIM (Internet and Multimedia Institute) in order to understand why he embodies the pinnacle of robotics.
The drones Shuttlecocks are increasingly used at disaster sites, and offer new tools for studying the scene. However, while they can access areas beyond human reach, they lack the strength to act on the ground. This is why flying humanoid robots are so interesting. There are already several flying bipedal models, such as Leonardo or the Jet-HR2.
However, researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology took a very different approach. Rather than building a robot with propellers, they added a jetpack to an existing robot. They took as a guinea pig the iCub, a small robot already very complete used in research. They added four reactors to it in order to transform it into iRonCub, the robot that can fly like Iron Man.
Researchers explain their research and show the iRonCub robot. © Italian Institute of Technology
Imminent take-off
In their article published in the journal IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, they indicate having created iRonCub to evaluate their very theoretical flight algorithms. The robot is placed on scales in order to be able to measure the thrust. The next step will be take off. Compared to other flying robots, iRonCub will be much less sensitive to wind to move, and can land to interact with all objects like a human being.
Even though iRonCub isn’t completely flying yet, researchers can use the data collected to perfect the jetpack. According to them, this could lead in the long term to motorized exoskeletons ruffles for human beings.
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