A Robot - LEONARDO's Incredible Flying-Walking Skills!
Channel: Hacking Space Frontier
Date: 2023-07-29

Researchers at Caltech have developed a groundbreaking bipedal robot called LEONARDO (LEgs ONboARD drOne), which combines walking and flying to achieve a new form of locomotion. This innovative robot, created by the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST) at Caltech, is capable of executing complex movements with exceptional nimbleness.

LEONARDO, also known as LEO for short, incorporates both multi-joint legs and propeller-based thrusters, granting it precise control over its balance. This unique combination allows LEO to perform various tasks, such as walking on a slackline, hopping, and even riding a skateboard. The design of the robot was inspired by observing birds' ability to flap and hop while navigating telephone lines, resulting in a complex and intriguing behavior during the transition between walking and flying.

The researchers' findings on LEO were published online on October 6, and the robot was featured on the cover of Science Robotics in October 2021. The team's aim with LEO was to understand and learn from the natural behavior of birds, leading to the development of a highly versatile and capable robot with a hybrid walking and flying locomotion system.