They Get Knocked Down, But They Get Up Again: The Rise of Self-Righting Robots

It starts with robots learning to stand up after a fall. Next, they’re outrunning us. Then, they’re outsmarting us. Are we helping machines become more resilient than we are?

Humanoid robots have long struggled to stand up after a fall, but a Chinese research team has cracked the code. Their Humanoid Standing-up Control (HoST) framework, trained via reinforcement learning in Nvidia’s Isaac Gym simulator, allows robots to get up from awkward positions; on stone roads, glass slopes, and even when kicked mid-motion.

Unlike past attempts, HoST fine-tunes balance with targeted rewards, motion smoothing, and speed limits, creating stability in unpredictable environments:

• HoST enables robots to rise on complex terrain.
• Training combines virtual simulations with real-world testing.
• Future applications include disaster response and human-robot collaboration.

If robots can recover faster than humans, what happens when they no longer need us? Are we designing assistants or competitors?

Read the full article on Live Science.

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