The advance of multimodal robots

It's inevitable. Technological advance overwhelms all the most conservative forecasts. Robots are part of this wave. The advance of multimodal robots surprises the world. A new review by experts from China's Xingjian University of Technology and the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (Switzerland) set out to study them. They explored recent advances and challenges in the design of bioinspired multimodal robots. They are systems that can alternate between different modes of movement, such as flying and walking.

Efficiency and speed

As reported in 'Science Robotics', these robots have the potential to take advantage of the adaptability and agility of animals. This gives them numerous advantages. They manage to optimize efficiency and speed at the same time to navigate in various environments.

In this work, the researchers examine the historical development of multimodal robots. These take inspiration from nature and identify key design considerations. For example, space allocation (limited space on board for components that allow different movements). Also body morphogenesis (the ability to modify the robot's body to facilitate varied movements).

The authors also propose five performance metrics. These could help evaluate the design and performance of multimodal robots. They include the number of different movement modes and the relative cost of integrating additional modules. The number of components that can be shared between different modes to improve efficiency was studied. Also the time or energy consumed during mode switching and the overall performance improvement when combining different modes.

Progress underway

The advance of multimodal robots makes us imagine a future with enormous possibilities. The review also highlights recent advances. And future directions in the construction, control and autonomous operation of bioinspired multimodal robots. “Future research may pave the way for bioinspired multimodal robots. And they would not only match, but exceed the agility, efficiency and adaptability of their biological counterparts," the authors conclude.