“... an alien race that looked like insects... would build robots to look like themselves.. "
Kevin J. Anderson
Before the Waseda-Hitachi Leg II (WHL-11) biped robot was unveiled at the 1985 Tsukuba Expo in Japan, robots could roll, drag, or crawl their way around. But here was a real breakthrough. This one could walk. Developed by Hitachi in collaboration with Waseda University, Japan, and with an onboard computer and hydraulic pump, the WHL-11 was capable of static walking on a flat surface at around thirteen seconds per step. The robot was also able to turn.
If a robot could walk like a human, it had been reasoned, it would be able to maneuver around objects and go up and down stairs—the applications of such a machine would be almost limitless. To do so, however, it had to have two legs, just like a person. It would also need to
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