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Bicycling robot mimics human movement

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Robotics have come a long way since car maker Honda began its research and development program to create robots capable of interacting successfully with humans in 1986. These days’ robots are autonomous beings with artificial intelligence that can learn and adapt human behaviour. So it should be no surprise that someone has developed a robot to ride a bike.

We’re not talking about a human sized robot on a Trek Madone here, but something much smaller (miniature if not toy like), but the result is still impressive as the video below shows. The robot is almost child-like in his riding style on the custom-made miniature bike.

Replicating human movement

The biking robot, which has been given the name of Primer-V2, has been developed by a Japanese robot engineer by the name of Dr Geuro (the name has the ring of James Bond baddie to me).

Dr Geuro wanted to create a robot that resembled the movement of a human on a bike having seen recent advances in flying, walking and climbing robots.

Different commands

The robot has a variety of different commands built into its circuit boards with some controlled by remote control. There is the pedalling action for instance, but the robot can also stop cycling by dragging his metal feet on the ground to stop.

He is able to walk backwards and forwards on the bike while in break mode with his metal feet pointing to the ground. He gets back into pedaling by lifting one foot onto a pedal then the other. Again this command is sent via the remote control. In a nice added touch, the Primer-V2 also waves at you when stationery.

Staying upright

The bike itself remains upright by relying on centrifugal force from its front wheel and a gyro that helps with steering when travelling in a straight line. When turning left or right the robot steers his arms and also bends his waist to lean into the turn.

We have a feeling that this robot may see the light of day as a toy in the near future.

See also

Bicycle wins Bristol commuter race

A work desk made for cycling

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