Researchers at the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technology (CAST) at the California Institute of Technology (California) have created a robot that can move on four and two wheels in addition to the ability to fly. M4 (multimodal mobile morphobot) is a a robot that is both a drone and a remote-controlled car. According to the researchers, the M4 was created based on various animals in nature and their ability to move around in different environments.

M4 at present titled “Real Life Transformer” for its ability to turn four wheels into drone propellers. It is quite interesting to see how the device manages to walk through different terrain and, if necessary, take off. In addition, the robot can walk on two wheels in a meerkat-inspired motion – if necessary, the animals can run on two legs while observing their surroundings. Below you can see a short report from Nature Video and you can see M4 in action.

MEET M4, “REAL LIFE TRANSFORMER”:

According to CAST researchers, the M4 is capable of driving on four wheels, turning wheels into rotors and flying, standing on two wheels to spy on obstacles, walking on two wheels, in addition to using two wheels for walking and two rotors for locomotion. climb steep slopes. The robot designed by Mori Gharib has so many features that it can be used in countless situations. “A robot with such a wide range of capabilities can be used in a variety of areas: from transporting the wounded to the hospital to exploring other planets.“Gharib commented.

According to Alireza Ramezani, associate professor in charge of the project and author of a scientific paper published in Nature Communications, the robot was designed as a high-capacity locomotion system. “Our goal was to push the boundaries of robot locomotion by developing a system that has exceptional mobility capabilities with a wide range of different locomotion modes. The M4 project has successfully achieved these goals.“.

According to the authors, the robot uses artificial intelligence to help the robot adapt to different landscapes. In addition, nature was used as inspiration for the creation of its multi-modal components. Besides meerkats, the M4 is also inspired by chukar birds (a type of partridge) that flap their wings to climb steep terrain. Of course, the M4 is a very interesting achievement in the engineering segment, and it can be applied in different situations.

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Source: nature video

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