ETH launches “Anymal”: Zurich robot shines in impassable terrain

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This was reported by robotics researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Zurich in a study published Wednesday in the journal “Science Robotics.”

“For the tests, we recreated harsh environments found after natural disasters, such as construction sites where debris can continue to break down when walked on or where oil stains cause slippery surfaces,” lead author Fabian Jenelten said when asked by Keystone. -SDA news agency. The test track included narrow beams, high boxes, a loose cover plate that tilted forward when walked on, a rolling board, a slippery plate and a foam block.

As the researchers reported, Anymal moved better than before on any terrain with the new control. And if he stumbled, he could easily catch himself. To achieve this, robotics researchers combined two different control methods.

One of these is called reinforcement learning. “You can imagine this like a child learning through experience,” Jenelten explained. The robot moves across different terrains in the virtual world. Every time he did something right, he received some kind of reward. To gain these experiences faster, the researchers sent 4,000 robots, all connected to the same “brain,” into the virtual terrain in parallel for two weeks.

The second method in this analogy, as Jenelten explains, is that the child’s mother tells him where to put his foot. The robot creates a map of the environment where it can see where holes and steps are in the ground. However, this control method runs into problems when visibility is restricted, for example by fog or sand.

This combines the advantages of both worlds, Jenelten said. The robot can plan very precisely where to place its foot, but it is also very good at catching itself if it slips.

(SDA)

Source : Blick