From fire-breathers to sprinters, mountain climbers, and gymnasts, we’ve seen our fair share of impressive quadrupedal robots. Now, the fourth-generation Honey Badger has added an underwater walkie to its list of robodog features.
Poland’s MAB Robotics was founded in 2019 after its founders emerged from a student research group to create their first robot dog. The startup’s four-legged Honey Badger has now gone through four iterations, with the latest version developing an improved taste for water.
As you can see in the video below, the Honey Badger 4.0, introduced earlier this year, proved its usability even in extreme environments by following the padding while submerged in the water of a swimming pool.
Honey Badger Legs Robot Walking Underwater | MAB Robotics
Of course, dedicated underwater drones and robots can navigate the shallows with more precision, but the honey badger has the advantage of being able to later emerge from the breakers and climb ashore to continue its mission.
“Developing a locomotion system that can navigate the challenges of underwater terrain has been a fascinating journey,” reports the company’s Jakub Bartoszek. But beyond the dust and water resistance to IP54/IP67 standards mentioned in the specs, details on what the journey actually entails are lacking.
We can see that the latest honey badger is 60 cm (23.6 inches) long, up to 50 cm (19/6 inches) high, and weighs 12 kg (26.4 pounds). In addition to walking in shallow water, it is also considered good for grass, concrete and gravel.
MAB Robotics
It uses RGB and thermal imaging cameras and LiDAR to roam at speeds of up to 1 m/s (2.24 mph) and is equipped with gas sensors. It has a 6Ah lithium-ion battery that can operate for up to 2 hours without cables, and the robot operates on the ROS2 platform, can carry a payload of up to 2kg, and can be controlled remotely via 5G or fiber optics. -Optical cable.
An earlier version rocking an articulated spine was shipped to a university for research purposes, while another version performed inspection missions at industrial sites in Poland, as well as getting inside heating distribution tunnels and water and sewage canals in the city of Poznań. Development continues.
Source: MAB Robotics
