China’s LimX Dynamics, a general-purpose robot company, has developed W1 quadruped robot that takes mobility to a whole new level. This robot can now walk on two “feet” in addition to its four legs with powered wheels.
The W1 was inspired by the highly-regarded Swiss-Mile Robot from ETH-Zurich, which also has four legs with powered wheels. The W1 has four legs, each one with a powered wheel on the end.
The W1 can move efficiently on smooth surfaces by rolling along on its wheels. If it encounters obstacles or rough terrain, however, it can stop and lock its wheels up, using them as feet to walk with a quadruped gait. And now, the W1 has a new and impressive feature – it can stand up on its hind legs, just like the Swiss-Mile, to adopt a human-like form for tasks such as package delivery. The W1’s versatility and adaptability make it an exceptional machine for a variety of applications.
The standing robot can rotate 360 degrees on the spot and recover from collisions without falling over. It can also switch from quadruped to biped mode in less than one second and stand at an impressive 152 cm tall when fully upright. Additionally, it can make sharp 90-degree turns and maneuver through tight spaces with ease.
The video released by LimX only shows the W1 walking on two feet on a smooth floor. It can climb stairs bipedally like the company’s CL-1 humanoid robot or if it needs to drop to all fours. It would also be great to see if the robot has the ability to grasp items with its front legs while standing, similar to the Swiss-Mile bot.
