Moog@IIT: a laboratory for robots

The motion control giant Moog Inc. and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) have signed an agreement for the creation of a joint laboratory, called Moog@IIT, in order to develop a new generation of technologies for the movement and control of autonomous robots.

The goal over the next three years will be to bring the robots out of the lab, into real-world contexts, and onto the market. The research activities will focus primarily on the optimization of actuation systems for the movement of the limbs, as well as on the realization of compact power systems to be installed directly on the robot and on new ad hoc monitoring systems.

HyQ- Hydraulic Quadruped will be the main robot for trying out and testing the new technologies. Created at the Genoa IIT in 2010, it is now in its second generation, named HyQ2Max: body in aluminium alloy, height of 1 meter to 80 kg, four “paws” moved by 12 actuators. A sensor system allows it to orient in space and to gauge its step to the type of terrain, even in the presence of obstacles or irregularities. The researchers want to turn it into a robust platform, ready to leave its controlled environment and act in real contexts - disaster or polluted areas, woods, building yards ... - and aid humans in performing dangerous and strenuous tasks.