X-RHEX: RHEX GETS AN UPGRADE
WINDORO THE WINDOW-CLEANING ROBOT – BOING BOING
January 22, 2011AUTONOMOUS QUADROTOR TEAMS MAY BUILD YOUR NEXT HOUSE
January 24, 2011It looks like that desert testing we wrote about in May of last year has paid off, and UPenn’s KodLab has developed a new version of their RHex wheeled/legged robot called X-RHex. X-RHex is about the same size and weight as RHex, but it’s stronger, more durable, and has as longer run time of up to two hours. It’s also got a couple mil-spec rails mounted on top along with standardized electrical connections, which could be just for convenience or could be because X-RHex has a probable military future, or both.
X-RHex doesn’t seem as capable of the speeds exhibited by other leg/wheel hybrid robots such as Whegs, but its strength is in its adaptability and the way it can make it through basically any sort of terrain, even things that would challenge conventional wheeled or tracked robots.
[ X-RHex ]
