Robotic legs 'could replace wheelchairs'
26/04/2006 - 09:21:44A Japanese researcher demonstrated a pair of robotic legs in Tokyo today that can negotiate stairs and could potentially find use as a wheelchair substitute.
“Elderly people using wheelchairs cannot get up and down stairs,” said Atsuo Takanishi, an engineering professor at Tokyo’s Waseda University.
“We wanted to create a robot that could do that and walk around rough surfaces.”
Takanishi has been working on the machine since 2003 in conjunction with robot manufacturer “tmsuk”.
Their goal has been to create a two-leg robot that can cope with features such as curbs and stairs.
Takanishi says the latest version of the robot, the WL-16RIII, can manage the mechanically difficult feat.
