BALLU: Buoyancy Assisted Lightweight Legged Unit
From the folks at RoMeLa – The Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory at UCLA (http://www.romela.org). It seems like they brought a cartoon stick figure to life. It’s so nice! Here’s part of the research abstract:
Robots are often associated with being heavy, mechanized metal objects. In fact, most current bipedal robots are unsafe, unstable, complex, expensive, and slow. The risks, inefficiencies, and danger involved prevents their widespread use and interaction with humans. This video presents the initial feasibility study and testing done on BALLU (Buoyancy Assisted Lightweight Legged Unit). BALLU is a robotic system that uses buoyancy to aid its stability and increase safety. This unique approach makes it intrinsically stable at all times and prevents it from falling.
