ATRIAS rightfully stands for Assume The Robot Is A Sphere, where it is being designed at the moment by researchers over in the Dynamic Robotics Laboratory at Oregon State University in order to end up as the fastest bipedal robot worldwide. Modeled after the fastest two-legged runners in nature, birds – especially the ones that spend plenty of their time on the ground, like chickens.
Jonathan Hurst, an associate professor and robotic expert in the OSU College of Engineering, shared, “When this robot gets up to speed for walking, not even running yet, it will be the fastest bipedal robot in the world.”
Part of the reason as to why the ATRIAS is able to move along speedily is because its legs happen to be made from a lightweight carbon-fiber mechanism which has been specially mounted on fiberglass springs, and in turn will be able to store mechanical energy as well as provide suspension so that it can be as fast and agile as possible even when it is tackling uneven terrain.