By — Nsikan Akpan Nsikan Akpan Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/robots-teach-martial-arts-avoid-smashing-ground Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Robots teach themselves martial arts to avoid smashing into the ground Science Oct 17, 2015 3:00 PM EDT A few weeks ago, I slipped in the shower, and after a cartoonish sequence of body contortions, I caught myself while landing. Robots aren’t as lucky. As June’s DARPA Robotics Challenge taught us, when machines fall, they tumble terribly and without the ability to brace themselves. But those days might be over thanks to a computer program created by scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. A new algorithm from allows robots to fall with style. Video by Georgia Institute of Technology As IEEE Spectrum describes, the new algorithm uses “techniques adapted from judo,” allowing a robot to learn how to position its appendages while tumbling. So rather than the full impact being felt by a single part of the robot, the robot can displace the kinetic energy created during the fall over multiple parts of its body. By learning how to tumble, robots reduced impact intensity to the head by 30 to 90 percent. Robot somersault. Image by Georgia Tech We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Nsikan Akpan Nsikan Akpan Nsikan Akpan is the digital science producer for PBS NewsHour and co-creator of the award-winning, NewsHour digital series ScienceScope. @MoNscience
A few weeks ago, I slipped in the shower, and after a cartoonish sequence of body contortions, I caught myself while landing. Robots aren’t as lucky. As June’s DARPA Robotics Challenge taught us, when machines fall, they tumble terribly and without the ability to brace themselves. But those days might be over thanks to a computer program created by scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. A new algorithm from allows robots to fall with style. Video by Georgia Institute of Technology As IEEE Spectrum describes, the new algorithm uses “techniques adapted from judo,” allowing a robot to learn how to position its appendages while tumbling. So rather than the full impact being felt by a single part of the robot, the robot can displace the kinetic energy created during the fall over multiple parts of its body. By learning how to tumble, robots reduced impact intensity to the head by 30 to 90 percent. Robot somersault. Image by Georgia Tech We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now