This robot jumps and lands like a cat. It could be used to explore asteroids

Team in northeast China used artificial intelligence to train the robot to adjust its posture mid-air using its legs

Reading Time:3 minutes

The AI learned through trial and error to refine its movements for stable landings. Photo: Handout

Published: 9:00pm, 26 Nov 2024

Chinese researchers have developed an AI-powered robot that can leap across the rugged, low-gravity surfaces of asteroids – potentially revolutionising the way small celestial bodies are explored.

Inspired by a cat’s ability to twist and land on its paws during a fall, the team from the Harbin Institute of Technology used reinforcement learning – a type of artificial intelligence – to train the robot to adjust its posture mid-air using its legs.

Unlike traditional systems that rely on heavy, specialised stabilisation hardware, the robot used a “model-free” control system to swing its four legs in a coordinated motion, the researchers reported in the Journal of Astronautics last month.

That allowed the robot to correct its tilt and even reorient to face a new direction in the air.

The study tackled a critical challenge of robotic jumping on small celestial bodies – a low-gravity environment where even a slight imbalance in leg force can lead to uncontrolled spinning, a crash landing, or the robot bouncing off the surface entirely, the paper said.

The robot was trained using reinforcement learning. Photo: Handout

“In the low-gravity environment of these [small celestial] bodies, robots undergo extended periods of free fall during each jump. It is essential to utilise this time to correct any altitude deviations induced by the jump, ensuring a safe landing or adjusting the yaw angle to modify their future trajectory,” the team wrote.