I think I have less or same “battery capacity” as a bipedal robot. The last time I ran 5.4 km in a Star Wars run, I was all beat up. Cassie, a bipedal robot invented at Oregon State University (OSU) and produced by OSU spinout company, Agility Robotics, made almost the same distance as I did and was nearly as quick.

Cassie Bipedal Robot Runs a 5K
Run Cassie, Run!

Cassie recently made history by running 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) in a little over 53 minutes on a single charge while I did 5.4 in around 50 minutes (I know, I am a slow poke) as a non-competitive person. That was no mean feat for a robot, btw.

The roboticists trained Cassie to run using a deep reinforcement learning algorithm. With this algorithm, Cassie is able to stay upright and shifting its balance as it runs. Countless adjustments have to be made by Cassie just to be able to make the run, but it did and did mention that it was totally untethered and outdoor? Now, that’s a significant milestone!

If you are keen, you can learn more about this future legged robot helper’s development HERE. Before that, you may want to check out an edited video of Cassie pulling off the feat below.

Images: Agility Robotics.

via Engadget.

Published by Mike

Avid tech enthusiast, gadget lover, marketing critic and most importantly, love to reason and talk.