(credit: screenshot from YouTube video)
in the recent IEEE Humanoids 2010 conference, held in Nashville, Tennessee, Ryumu Niiyama showcased a running robot, dubbed the Athlete. this Athlete-bot with springy blade-like legs, emulates the human muscles in the leg, hip and lower abdomen regions with an artificial musculoskeletal system.
judging from the video, i guess the development is still in its infancy. the bot was rigged with a harness hung from the ceiling and manages a few steps before falling to the ground. nevertheless it was a promising development and the knowledge gained from such developments may be (in future) translated to practical uses for devices which will eventually aid disable people in achieving freedom of movement again.
via CRAVE
