Barcelona-based PAL Robotics, which has been developing humanoid robots for over 20 years, says it developed its new Kangaroo research platform to push the boundaries of bipedal locomotion.
The headless robot, aptly named Kangaroo, can walk freely, absorb impacts, and perform rapid legged movements thanks to its novel hybrid leg structure. It concentrates its power in the torso area, where its motors sit like a mechanical core, right about where a real marsupial’s pouch would be. According to its developers, the design makes it lighter, more balanced, and easier to control.
Standing about 1.6 meters (5 feet 2 inches), the Kangaroo biped is available in lite, standard, and pro variants, which range in weight from 35 kg to 40 kg (77 lbs to 88 lbs). Pricing has not been publicly disclosed.
Kangaroo is powered by custom linear actuators, a 2 kHz EtherCAT control system, and a Linux/ROS-based architecture. The robot runs for up to 4 hours per charge. PAL says its onboard Intel i7 processor manages complex balance and motion control algorithms in real time.
Beyond locomotion research, the Kangaroo is also being used for the PRIMI project. Short for Performance in Robotics Interaction via Mental Imagery, the PRIMI initiative is funded by Horizon Europe and runs for November 2023 to December 2027. Its goal is to create a new kind of personal robot that thinks, learns, and moves with the precision and awareness of a human being.
To accomplish this, scientists are combining ideas from neuroscience, psychology, AI, and robotics. The project focuses on unlocking mental imagery for machines, event-driven computing to react instantly to their surroundings, and a “theory of mind” to understand human thinking, feelings, and intentions. PAL’s team is upgrading the biped’s hardware and brain-like control system for clinical trials to explore how robots like it could one day help stroke patients recover with robot-assisted rehabilitation.