American researchers have created M4, a real transformer that can reconfigure itself to change the way of locomotion. Researchers were inspired by Choukar partridges and crested hoatzins using their wings to run, or even sea lions using their fins to run.
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Drones are usually limited to a mode of locomotion such as flying or taxiing, which limits their possible uses. To make robots more versatile, researchers at the Caltech Institute in the United States have managed to create a device that can transform itself to choose between different modes of locomotion, choosing the most efficient or most suitable for the given situation.
A detailed article about the robot was published in the journal Nature Communications. It’s called M4 (Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot) and it integrates artificial intelligence to determine which mode to choose. It has four wheels to roll on the ground like a car, which is the most energy-efficient mode. However, these wheels can rotate 90 degrees and also contain propellers, turning the M4 into a flying drone.
Introducing Caltech’s M4 robot, which can transform to roll or fly on the ground. Enable automatic translation of subtitles in English. © Nature
Several means of transport
The device can also stand upright on two wheels, with the other two used to balance it, allowing it to see over an obstacle without flying away. In addition, the M4 is articulated, allowing it to walk, bend down to get under an obstacle, traverse rough terrain, and even use two wheels to grab an object, such as hands. The researchers counted eight different modes.
“Our goal was to push the boundaries of robotic locomotion by developing a system that exhibits exceptional mobility capabilities with a wide range of different locomotion modes,” said Alireza Ramezani, one of the authors of the paper. Researchers hope the M4 will enable the development of robots specialized in search and rescue, space exploration, or simply drone deliveries.