There’s some exciting robotics research coming out of universities across the globe, and we at Petoi are privileged to be a part of this story!
In the summer of 2023, two undergraduate physics students, Deep Patel and Aidan Bannon from Haverford College, were using the Petoi Bittle (our flagship 3D printed robot dog) as part of an ongoing and interesting study.
Their goal: to test how substrate properties and foot design influence power consumption, slippage, and walking speed in robots.
Working with Prof. Suzanne Amador Kane (Haverford College) and Prof. S. Tonia Hsieh (Temple University), they started by creating a circular track for the Petoi Bittle as a frictional interaction testbed.
As you can see in the picture above, the group has attached a universal joint to constrain the programmable robot to the circular track, a power tester to display power draw, and markers for computer vision tracking.
Below, you may also find the research poster the students presented at the Haverford Summer Research Symposium.
Currently, the research is still in the preliminary phases of experimentation with this apparatus, but there are hopes to begin trials soon in 2024.
We at Petoi will keep you posted with the latest from these bright minds out of Haverford! To never miss an update on this story, news, and tutorials, scroll down below, and don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter!
Interested in reading more featuring the best in college and university robotics research?
Watch how the robotics camp middle school students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong how to build & program Petoi Nybble robot cat!
Keep up with the latest and most useful updates out of Petoi Camp, right here on our blog.
Thanks for reading. Let us know what you think, & make sure to leave a comment below, and feel free to get in touch with us!