Nao robot climbs a staircase autonomously

Our society seems to be making that shift to the world of robots more and more, but robots are still very much underdeveloped compared to us humans. How do you tell a robot to hold an egg with its fingers with a different amount of pressure compared to say, a dumb-bell of the same circumference? Well, even running and walking up stairs prove difficult – but not impossible for robots, as the Nao humanoid robot is showcased in the video above, climbing up a spiral staircase.

Good thing the video has been speeded up in some parts, otherwise this would have been pretty much yawn inducing. The thing is, at least the Nao robot can not climb up stairs – but will it be able to bring you breakfast in bed down the road sometime? Only the future will tell, so for the moment, we will just have to sit down and wait patiently for future robot developments.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: NAO robot avoids obstacles autonomously, Aldebaran robotics wants Nao to be more helpful in disastrous situations,

Nao humanoid climbs spiral staircase, breakfast in bed is around the corner (video)

Nao humanoid climbs spiral staircase, breakfast in bed is around the corner (video)

Robots can clean your pool and pick up after your lavish dinner parties, but what use is Mr. Nao when you’re ringing for a nightcap from the comfort of your second-floor bedroom? Okay, so we’ve seen the odd bot take a journey up some stairs, but how many cyborgs are prepared to scale flights that twist and turn? Researchers from the University of Freiburg’s Humanoid Robots Laboratory have demonstrated a Nao humanoid capable of climbing spiral staircases, which, of course, are more challenging to scale than their non-curving counterparts. A laser range scanner on the top of the robot’s head provides a global estimation of the bot’s position, and the humanoid uses a 3D model of the staircase to match up with the images it captures on each step. This system lets it get a good enough grip on its geography to successfully detect stair edges and make it to the top with nary a trip. Take a look for yourself in the video below.

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Nao humanoid climbs spiral staircase, breakfast in bed is around the corner (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Jul 2012 23:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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