Two-legged robot mimics human balance while running and jumping: New control system may enable humanoid robots to do heavy lifting and other physically demanding tasks

Engineers are making strides on the design of four-legged robots and their ability to run, jump and even do backflips. But getting two-legged, humanoid robots to exert force or push against something without falling has been a significant stumbling block. Now engineers at MIT and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a method to control balance in a two-legged, teleoperated robot -- an essential step toward enabling a humanoid to carry out high-impact tasks in challenging environments. The team's robot, physically resembling a machined torso and two legs, is controlled remotely by a human operator wearing a vest that transmits information about the human's motion and ground reaction forces to the robot. Through the vest, the human operator can both direct the robot's locomotion and feel the robot's motions.