In the laboratories of the Artificial Intelligence Research Center (DFKI = Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz) in Bremen, Germany, scientists are implementing a project to invent a four-legged robot named Aramies.
The Aramies robot will be utilized on distant planets thanks to its abilities such as crawling and even climbing. The robot resembles a cat, which is a deliberate choice by the researchers to draw inspiration from the animal kingdom.
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Exploring planet cat robot. Image from a foreign website. |
With four flexible aluminum legs, the Aramies cat robot can navigate through the deepest pits and steepest cliffs. For instance, on Mars, the Aramies robot could explore areas previously unreachable by other robots.
According to Professor Frank Kirchner, small animals may not have the brains to think, yet they can perform very complex movements, a phenomenon that also applies to Aramies. When encountering obstacles, Aramies will navigate around them. Its movements on soft soil or mud will differ from those on hard rocky surfaces.
Compared to the heavy wheeled robots currently exploring Mars, Professor Kirchner believes Aramies has significant advantages since there are regions scientists wish to investigate where Rover robots cannot venture, such as narrow deep ravines or the sheer cliffs of craters.
Weighing only about 34 kg, and with its four cat-like paws, the Aramies robot has no trouble moving and maintaining balance while performing tasks such as collecting soil and rock samples for scientists to study. However, it may be a long time before Aramies can operate independently, as there are still many complex challenges to overcome, such as designing Aramies to withstand harsh weather conditions, ranging from extreme cold to intense heat in outer space.
In addition to its missions on other planets and potentially on the Moon in the future, scientists also aspire to utilize the capabilities of Aramies in construction projects and factories…
