Talk about dedication where the Cornell robot Ranger is concerned – it has just set a new world record as it walked a whopping 40.5 miles on a single battery charge without getting any external help or stopping. The Ranger was specially built and programmed in the Biorobotics and Locomotion lab with a team led by Andy Ruina, who is professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Pulling off an all nighter, Ranger started on the Barton Hall track slightly after 2pm on May 1st, and stopped at 9pm the next day after a gruelling 30 hours, 49 minutes and 2 seconds of non-stop walking.
The total distance covered was 307.75 laps (0.13 miles per lap) at a 1.3mph amble, and in order to warm up for the event, Ranger walked a total of 30 laps in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life the day before.
Previously, the robot managed to hold a record of 14.3 miles that was set last July, and the whole objective of this exercise was to create a robot to walk an entire marathon (that’s 26.2 miles) without requiring a recharge, something that the Ranger managed to accomplish in slightly more than 20 hours, followed by a good 14 miles or so.