Tencent's wheel-legged robot Ollie, which is capable of incredible feats of agility, including 360-degree aerial summersaults, has been given tactile sensing abilities to further enrich the robot’s “senses.”
The robot’s latest capabilities were unveiled by Shenzhen-based tech giant Tencent’s Robotics X Lab recently. Ollie is another innovative exploration of Tencent’s Robotics X Lab following the introduction of quadruped robots Jamoca and Max.
Tencent’s wheel-legged robot Ollie. Courtesy of Tencent
The wheel-legged robot integrates several cutting-edge mobile control technologies and represents key breakthroughs in fields such as motion planning, balance and stability, and human-computer interaction.
According to Tencent, its Robotics X Lab has innovatively integrated a tactile sensor with Ollie. The sensor, which was jointly developed by the lab and Tsinghua University, adopts a new piezoresistive material with ultra-high sensitivity, ultra-large range, ultra-fast response speed and ultra-high cycle stability.
Combined with a customized electrode adaptation module and a high-speed signal acquisition module, the sensor was added with a self-developed integrated software and hardware solution, so that the robot can sense extremely subtle pressure changes on its surface. Relevant research results have been accepted by ACS Nano, an international journal in the nanotechnology field.
The new tactile sensor enables Ollie to use its own “skin” to get a feel for the world, can identify materials by touch and respond in different ways. With tactile support, combined with stable agile ability, Ollie can handle difficult tasks such as head balance and handling spherical objects.
The latest version of Ollie is also capable of taking steps, an ability last year’s version lacked, as the leg-wheeled robot has been given the ability to take steps and move at the same time. It shows more stable and better performance in walking on different surfaces.