Many kinds of robots are being used in a wide range of fields for surveillance, emergency services support, and in industry but we haven’t seen any of those sci-fi robots that are shown in the movies. Development of shape-changing drones, small rollers, and big walking robots continues apace, but Robugtix saw the gap in the market and released its new robot known as Z6.
Z6 is a small multi-terrain robotic mover that can be carried in a backpack. It can perform on-site tasks and can carry cargo. The company has been making these robots for years now. In 2013, they launched eight-legged walkers, T8 and T8X. Robugtix has now moved into professional bot space and released its machine Z6 out of the development lab.
The dimensions of the robot are 7.8 x 9 x 5.4 inches (20 x 23 x 13.7 cm). It is backpack friendly, allowing it to be carried on foot to where it is needed and then deployed. When the six jointed legs are unfolded, it measures 20.5 x 19.3 x 6.7 inches (52 x 49 x 17 cm) from a central rectangular block. The bot is controlled remotely using a joystick controller with an integrated monitor that makes it a nice fit for search and rescue operations, exploration, urgent site inspections, and more.
The hexapod is equipped with a built-in camera for live video streaming. It can move over obstacles, climb stairs, can roll over, and put itself in the right position when it gets flipped. It can cross irregular terrains and can navigate through tight spaces to carry cargo. The bot is capable of walking with a speed of 30 cm per second.
Each leg of Z6 have sensors that detect contact with the ground. It has a built-in gyro-meter/accelerometer, and the robot uses 18 motorized joints with 3 degrees of freedom per leg. It runs on an advanced software version that is used for Bigfoot Robotics Engine for their consumer spider bots. According to Irene Han, the battery life of Z6 is solely dependent upon the applications for which it will be used, most importantly the payload, durations, and types of motions involved. During the testing, the company averaged one hour of battery life, but it’s difficult to provide with an exact value for the battery life.
Robugtix designed Z6 as a modular robotic platform which will accommodate different types of payload such as sensors, grippers, and pan-tilt cameras – dependent on the mission profile. Interestingly the Z6 can also dance. Until now, there is no information regarding its pricing and availability in the market, but the company says more professional robots are under development.
All Images: © Robugtix
h/t: New Atlas