麻豆淫院

(麻豆淫院Org.com) -- As CHARLI takes his first steps, anxious onlookers stand ready to catch him if he falls. His stride is short, but upright, as one foot is placed in front of the other in the basement of Virginia Tech鈥檚 Randolph Hall.

But CHARLI is no toddler.

He is a 5-foot tall humanoid robot built by graduate and undergraduate students with the Virginia Tech College of Engineering鈥檚 Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa).

After a long moment, CHARLI comes to a rest. An audible 鈥淲hew!鈥� is heard from CHARLI鈥檚 main architect, doctoral student Jeakweon (鈥淛.K.鈥�) Han. Dennis Hong, associate professor of mechanical engineering and director of RoMeLa, can鈥檛 resist a joke.

鈥淥ne small step for a robot, one giant leap for robotics,鈥� he shouted.

Hong isn鈥檛 entirely facetious, though. CHARLI (that鈥檚 for Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence) is historic. CHARLI is the first untethered, autonomous, full-sized, walking, humanoid robot with four moving limbs and a head, built in the United States. His two long legs and arms can move and gesture thanks to a combination of pulleys, springs, carbon fiber rods, and actuators. CHARLI soon will be able to talk as well.

Fans of robotics are taking note.

鈥淭his is a significant milestone in robotics engineering and is a testament to the technological leadership of Virginia Tech鈥檚 RoMeLa lab,鈥� said Tom Atwood, editor of 鈥淩obot鈥� magazine.

Of course it will be many years before CHARLI or his incarnations will be seen walking around campus or even in homes across America. Hong refers to the latter placement as his 鈥淛etsons Goal鈥� (named for the popular 1960s cartoon that featured Rosie, a robotic maid for the futuristic family).

鈥淭he environment we live in is designed for humans: The step size of stairs, the height of door handles, etc., are designed by humans for humans,鈥� Hong said. 鈥淭hus for a robot to live among us and to serve us, it needs human size and form. Thus humanoids. But, manipulation with hands, perception, intelligence, and autonomy are all important and difficult research problems that need to be addressed.鈥�

That research is under way. There are two CHARLIs.

The one now walking across floors and motioning his arms is CHARLI L, as in Lightweight. He鈥檚 meant to walk indoors on known flat surfaces, but not run or jump. Eventually, he will be able to kick soccer balls. The robot is expected to debut at this year鈥檚 RoboCup tournament in Singapore.

Then there is CHARLI H (for Heavy). This bulkier robot will utilize custom-designed actuators and other technologies that one day will allow it walk on the sloping, rising ground that comprises Virginia Tech鈥檚 campus. He also will be able to run, jump, kick, open doors, pick up objects, and do just about anything a real person can do.

鈥淐HARLI H will be a fully functioning robot,鈥� said Derek Lahr, a Ph.D. student from Charleston, S.C., who is spearheading the 鈥淗鈥� project. For now, only one leg of CHARLI H is complete.

The students built CHARLI L with $20,000 in seed money from the Virginia Tech Student Engineers鈥� Council and donated equipment from National Instruments and Maxon Precision Motors. 鈥淭he budget constraints actually inspired us to think of different solutions, 鈥楬ow can we actually make this happen with a small budget?' And that actually led us to new types of mechanical solutions,鈥� Hong said.

Work on the robot began in 2008 with 13 undergraduate and graduate students working on the project at any given time. Inspiration came from science-fiction films and spouses.

鈥淚 hope CHARLI could help physically challenged people to cook, clean, and carry items like the NS-5,鈥� said Han, referring to the humanoid robot at the center of the 2004 film 鈥淚, Robot.鈥� Han鈥檚 design concept was assisted by his wife, Younseal Eum, who is an artist.

Atwood said he is excited for the future. 鈥淓ventually, there will be a robot in every home assisting families and individuals, and walking robots will find work in all kinds of places, from warehouses to manufacturing centers,鈥� he said.

Indeed, Hong will have seen his 鈥淛etsons Goal鈥� come true.