Falling in Style

Robotic Falling

Now soccerbots in Chile are learning to fall in a controlled way, reducing damage to themselves and their environment, letting them recover quickly and get on with the game- they can even fall over deliberately to save a shot on goal, for example.

Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield in the UK, points out that giving a large robot the ability to fall over gracefully could greatly extend the role of humanoid robots outside soccer, including cybersuits and robot legs that assist walking in elderly and disabled people. "At present if someone tripped in a cybersuit they would fall heavily and sustain injuries," he says. Improving the technology could make a fall less harmful for anyone wearing a such a suit. "What we need now is a good method for getting up gracefully."

New Scientist