Communications of the ACM
Finally, a Robot Chimp That Turns Into a Tank
With human-like strength and dexterity, CMU's ape-like CHIMP robot can climb and drive.
Credit: Time
Some of the contestants in the DARPA Robotics Challenge, launched in April 2012, are starting to reveal aspects of their projects. The Carnegie Mellon University team is developing an ape-like robot, called CMU Highly Intelligent Mobile Platform (CHIMP), with tank treads undergirding all four limbs. "Though the appearance of . . . CHIMP is vaguely simian, its normal mode of locomotion will be much like that of a tank, with the tracks of all four limbs on the ground," the team says.
CHIMP's drive joints allow it to grasp objects like a human, and the tank treads allow it to navigate complex environments while maintaining its balance. "CHIMP is designed with static stability; it won't fall down even if it experiences a computer glitch or power failure," says CMU researcher Tony Stentz.
CHIMP also features near-human strength and dexterity, employs sensors to render its surroundings in texture-mapped 3D, and its human operator can use the 3-D imagery relayed by CHIMP to choose whether to manually maneuver the robot or allow CHIMP to work autonomously.
From Time
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