Virtual lunar robot proves pogoing beats moonwalking

摘要

A Humanoid robot has just emulated Neil Armstrong's "giant leap" - though only in a simulation. It's one small step towards developing a robot that can handle the unusual challenges of walking on the moon. In light of the problems NASA has had with its wheeled rovers getting stuck in Martian sand, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has proposed using bipedal robots to explore the moon. With gravity on the moon one-sixth that on Earth, bipedal robots have more time to right themselves if they begin to fall over.