Nimble and steady on their feet: Next-generation legged robots | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Nimble and steady on their feet: Next-generation legged robots Nimble and steady on their feet: Next-generation legged robots Published: July 08, 2020 Author: Nina Welding Drake, an open-source model-based design and verification robotics simulator, helps verify Kurtz's models. Could legged robots be used to find survivors after an earthquake or to fight forest fires? Answering that question is the goal of Vince Kurtz’s research. A graduate student in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Kurtz recently received a three-year Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowship supporting his efforts to bridge the gap between classical control theory, formal methods and robotics. “Today’s best legged robots work well under certain conditions, but they perform poorly in unstructured environments outside the lab,” Kurtz said. “If we want to be able to use them in dangerous and uncertain environments, robots must be able to better mimic the way humans and animals walk, especially over uneven ground when balance is critical.” Vince Kurtz Current control algorithms — mathematical instructions written into code to achieve a task, like avoiding obstacles or balancing without falling — for legged locomotion are complex and require extensive hand-tuning by the robot’s operators. Kurtz connects the simple models most roboticists use to control legged robots with more complete physics-based models. These mathematical connections enable robots to recover from larger push disturbances and walk over more difficult terrain. The connections may even provide clues to how animals move so effectively over land. Kurtz is continuing his work with his adviser, Hai Lin, professor of electrical engineering and Patrick Wensing, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, to design safe and effective control methods for humanoid and quadruped robots. Posted In: Research Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related October 05, 2022 Astrophysicists find evidence for the presence of the first stars October 04, 2022 NIH awards $4 million grant to psychologists researching suicide prevention September 29, 2022 Notre Dame, Ukrainian Catholic University launch three new research grants September 27, 2022 Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis September 22, 2022 Climate-prepared countries are losing ground, latest ND-GAIN index shows For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn