MIT's Improbable Artificial Intelligence Laboratory researchers have developed a soccer-dribbling robot to dribble a soccer ball. MIT Professor Pulkit Agrawal said: "If you look around today, most robots are wheeled. But imagine that there's a disaster scenario, flooding or an earthquake, and we want robots to aid humans in the search-and-rescue process. We need the machines to go over terrains that aren't flat, and wheeled robots can't traverse those landscapes."
Dubbed the "Dribblebot," the four-legged machine has sufficient intelligence to dribble a soccer ball across multiple different terrains. The Dribblebot can dribble a soccer ball across mud, gravel, sand, and snow. The Dribblebot contains a silver body with a built-in camera on its head to scan and detect the presence of the soccer ball. There is also a recovery controller built into the Dribblebot's system that consistently allows itself to get back up after falling. After getting back up, the Dribblebot will automatically change back into ball-tracking mode. The Dribblebot is one of the many robot quadrupeds being improved for advanced technological and innovative research purposes. The research paper on the Dribblebot will be presented at the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.
Soccer-Dribbling Robots
MIT Researchers Built the Dribblebot Capable of Playing Soccer
Trend Themes
1. Quadruped Robots - The development of quadruped robots showcases a trend towards more versatile and adaptable machines capable of traversing new terrains for search and rescue scenarios.
2. AI-enabled Robots - The integration of AI technology in robots like the Dribblebot highlights a growing trend towards robots with enhanced recognition and decision-making capabilities.
3. Robots for Disaster Response - The development of the Dribblebot highlights a trend towards using advanced robotic technologies to aid in disaster response scenarios.
Industry Implications
1. Search and Rescue - The use of quadruped robots and AI technology presents disruptive innovation opportunities for search and rescue industries, allowing for more efficient and effective disaster response scenarios.
2. Robotics and Automation - Quadruped robots and AI technology are disrupting traditional robotics and automation industries by introducing new capabilities and use cases for machines.
3. Sports and Entertainment - The development of the Dribblebot and other similar robots presents potential disruptive opportunities within sports and entertainment industries, allowing for new types of performances and competitions with intelligent and agile machines.