There has been a lot of advancement in robotics over the past few years. Robots are now capable of climbing stairs and doing backflips. Now, as a group of researchers from Italy have demonstrated, small robot dogs are even capable of pulling 3-ton airplanes. The video shows the HyQReal robot dog pulling a 3-ton Piaggio P180 Avanti passenger airplane at the Genova Airport in Italy.
These researchers are with the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia. The HyQReal robot dog was able to pull the small passenger airplane for almost 33 feet. That’s an incredible feat for the robot to achieve on its own given the sheer weight of the jet.
“We wanted to achieve something that has never been done before, and we succeeded last week,” said project leader Claudio Semini, adding that by pulling the plane, they were able to demonstrate the robot’s power-autonomy, strength, and its optimized design.
They ultimately want to improve the robot’s design so that it can be used in a variety of situations such as agriculture, disaster response, and more. The researchers are also working on a project with the Italian fire fighters to provide support using the robot after disaster strikes. The robot would support relief efforts in disaster-hit areas without putting human lives at risk.
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