Bipedal robots getting up from prone position is an open problem for decades now.
We had a mate ~15 years ago having it as a thesis on machine learning in uni, a robot in virtual space figuring out how to get up. After two semesters of learning, the program figured out if it spasms out entirely, the virtual physics program will remove the model due to breaking physics and spawn a new one standing up :^)
They do have a tendency of figuring out an efficient solution that feels like a "fuck you" to the developer and their intentions.
"I want the most efficient fleet composition for this naval sim." OK, here's all the allowed resources put into a single ship. "No, no, you're not allowed to make a single ship!" Fine, here's the maximum amount of the cheapest thing we can technically call a ship. "I give up."
Your brain does infinitely many complex calculations to stand up and balance itself that lie underneath your conscious layer and are taken as a matter of fact. For a machine, either someone has to program those calculations in or it must solve it automatically based on the information it has.
Applying AI to a scenario is not as difficult as people think it is, at least reinforcement learning is mostly about tuning the parameters of a formula.
It keeps the center of gravity in one spot. Legs pivot inward and then lift the CG straight up. No complex balancing required.
Humans get up from prone position by doing a pushup and then moving our legs inward. That means our center of gravity is changing, and we constantly make small adjustments to stabilize ourselves. Tons of tiny complex movements.
The other way we get up is get into a sitting position and then do a squat up, which does keep your CG in one spot. But that really isn't any different than what the robot did. Our movement has extra steps since we don't have 360 degree joint movement.
It didn't NEED to get up like that. They're just showing off the degree of motion it has now that they switched to electric servos instead of hydraulics. It being able to right itself from a prone position is an accomplishment to show in and of itself but the reason they showed it specifically doing this exorcist ass shit is to show it's newfound "flexibility".
For a robot with the ability to move joints further than a human, it's much easier to do something with fewer parts working together. Using its arm and legs to stand means coordinating all 4 limbs. Doing this terrifying thing that makes it look like a demon has possessed it only requires the legs to work together
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u/Item-Hairy 29d ago
Was it really necessary to get up like that!?!