Daniel Porter
Aug 30, 2012
Featured

VIDEO - RHex grows a tail

This isn't the first time UPenn researchers have put a tail on their robots. The video first shows the results of their initial tests with "Tailbot," a small (less than 200g) robot designed for the purpose. Now, they've added similar tail-righting functionality to  RHex, an 8.1kg hexapedal walking robot. Both right themselves when starting from straight vertical free-fall in the first test, a somewhat cat-like response to being dropped from heights. The second test demonstrates how the tail helps maintain body orientation relative to the horizontal -- particularly useful for robots that are prone to walking off small cliffs.