This Robot Isn't as Cute as a Cat, But It Falls Like One

Watching robots fall and totally eat shit is nearly as entertaining as watching cats do the same, but with an important difference: when cats fall, they usually land on their feet. Robots aren't quite as nimble and that can mean huge repair costs.

Robotics researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are trying to solve this problem by getting a robot to move like a cat in mid-air. Cats are able to flip themselves over while airborne and land in a position that minimizes the force of impact. They have to think fast, and move just as quickly. Attempting to replicate this in a robot is a bold endeavour, and it's exactly as tricky as it sounds.

In a new paper, available online today, the Georgia Tech researchers described how they developed an algorithm that allows a robot to calculate the position it needs to be in when it hits the ground, while it's falling, to reduce the magnitude of contact force and thus minimize possible damage.

To test their algorithm, the roboticists devised a system that recreated a slow-motion fall without the danger of a messy and expensive outcome for their robot. Basically, they sent a simple robot comprised of a central body and two movable appendages—it kind of looks like a sausage link—down a slanted DIY air hockey table.

The reasoning behind their set-up also had to do with the abilities of their robot. Although it was able to calculate its optimal landing pose on the way down, its motors weren't fast enough to move its limbs into the right position during a real fall. The slowed-down rig allowed the researchers to demonstrate their proof-of-concept within the limitations of their technology.

Other feline-inspired robots like MIT's Cheetah are on their way to getting the ground-based parts of animal movement down pat. Currently, Cheetah can bound across rough terrain at 16 miles per hour. If it falls, however, it's less graceful. That's part of the reason why Cheetah's full abilities—an incredible 30 miles per hour—are only unleashed in a lab where it can be secured by a safety harness to keep it from breaking it when it tops out and trips.

With the ability to turn themselves over mid-air and land on their feet, robots could run, jump, and land as gracefully as a cat. Which, actually, is not always that graceful, but usually hilarious.