RoboDog

By Jere Hough Meteorologist / Feature Reporter

The sign on the door says IHMC. It stands for Institute for Human and Machine Cognition. But probably, you still could not guess what is going on inside. RoboDog

Published: Thu, August 14, 2008 - 9:24 am Last Updated: Thu, August 14, 2008 - 11:07 am

Jere Hough

At eye level, it looks a little like a giant cricket, climbing over boulders, coming right at you.
But actually "Little Dog," its nickname, is a four-legged robot...and moving over rough terrain is its one trick.
But mastering that one trick has huge implications:
Matt Johnson ,Research Associate, at IHMC explains, "Today's robots aren't very mobile, they can't get around, they're restricted to mainly roads and paved areas. They can't get over curbs, they can't go into field and over rocks."
Little Dog is learning to negotiate rocks and slopes and such, like the dunes of Iraq or the mountains of Afghanistan.
"You could eventually use them for reconnaissance," continues Johnson. "You could use them to deploy weapons; you could use them to just supply logistical support for the soldiers."
IHMC is a non-profit research institute affiliated with a group of Florida colleges including the University of West Florida in Pensacola.
Johnson's research team develops software that allows Little Dog to place its "feet" perfectly when it encounters slopes, rocks, or other obstacles. There are twelve motors inside...each checked by a "calibration routine," a kind of warm up exercise. During the walk, Motion Tracking Cameras record its actions for the computer program which then sends movement commands to the robot.
This is a Department of Defense funded project, but Johnson explains there are civilian implications as well.
"You know, how do get in and out of a building with wheelchairs? You have to have ramps. If you had legged chairs instead of wheelchairs, you could get to a lot more areas." He adds, "it would also enable you to get the person who has the disability up to eye level instead of being seated."
Meteorologist Jere Hough makes a final comment. "Well, despite the fact that Little Dog looks a lot like a cricket, and he's not very much fun to pet, he is really, really smart."
There are other "Little Dogs," each costing about $50,000. A total of six colleges around the country are in a competition to develop the most capable robot.