A walking robot that adapts to different terrain is helping scientists understand how humans move and could one day lead to improved treatment for spinal cord and other injuries, German researchers said on Friday.

Previously, RunBot the robot's inventors said the 30-centimetre-tall machine could only walk forward on flat surfaces and would topple over when encountering a slope.

Previously, RunBot the robot's inventors said the 30-centimetre-tall machine could only walk forward on flat surfaces and would topple over when encountering a slope.


But using an infrared eye, the robot can now detect an incline in its path and adjust its gait after four or five attempts to navigate up the slope, researchers said.

The machine, which simply falls over until it learns to walk uphill, takes 3-4 stride lengths per second, a touch faster than the normal human gait of about 1.5 to 2.5 stride lengths per second.

"It is trial and error learning," said Florentin Woergoetter, a researcher at the University of Goettingen who helped design RunBot.

"It needs about four or five falls to learn this."

Woergoetter, who published his findings in the journal Computational Biology, compared the process with the way a child learns to walk. He said just like humans, RunBot leans forward slightly and uses shorter steps to navigate uphill.

A key is the robot's "brain" -- in this case the infrared eye connected to the control circuits --which directs the machine to change its gait when needed.

Previous research suggests the motor control system in humans consists of a hierarchy of levels where interactions between muscles and the spinal cord work largely on their own until a higher level of control -- the brain -- is needed.

This relationship can help explain how some paraplegics are able to use their legs on a treadmill while suspended in a harness, and was key to the research, Woergoetter said.

Studying a robot to gain a better understanding of how different parts of the body work when walking could have practical applications to improve health care for humans, he added.

This could include designing better prosthetics for amputees or helping therapists work with patients with spinal cord and other severe injuries with a goal of getting them mobile again.

"The robot is essentially a model of the human biped walking and can be used to improve understanding and for better treatment methods," Woergoetter said.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com

Shares of Wipro, whose Chairman Azim Premji has been named among the world's greatest entrepreneurs of all times by BusinessWeek, has given a return of over 25 per cent to company's investors in US in one year.

Wipro's scrip, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has soared to 15.78 dollar at the end of June from 12.59 dollar in the year-ago period.

However, on the Bombay Stock Exchange, the IT major's share has made a gain of just four per cent over a year. The scrip closed at Rs 518.20 at the end of June this year as compared to Rs 496 in the same period previous year.

Wipro's share settled at Rs 512.60 last week, while its ADRs settled at 15.86 dollars at the NYSE on July 13.

The company started off as a vegetable oil firm and has since diversified to become a leading global player in IT services.

Premji has been the Chairman of Wipro Ltd from 1966 when he took over the company after his return from Stanford. He founded the Azim Premji Foundation in the year 2001, with an aim to make tangible impact on identified social issues through education, BusinessWeek said.

The Foundation is working with 15 state governments and is engaged with 20,000 government-run schools reaching about 2.5 million children.

The US magazine named Premji in the 'Top 30 All Time Entrepreneurs' list, which honours the ideas and innovation of the world's 30 most influential people. The list includes 15th century explorer Admiral Zheng H to present day business leaders like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Michael Dell.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com