Humanoid robots are increasingly capturing headlines, but aside from Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, they have varying degrees of capability. None of them can fly, though. Not yet, but researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology are working on that.
No, really. The Institute’s iRonCub3 humanoid bot has successfully lifted off the ground while powered by jetpacks (and the most frightening face its creators could think of, which is horrifying).
Unidentified flying humanoid
iRonCub3 managed to lift some 50cm off the ground while under jetpack power, a more significant feat than it looks while mounted in the harness used to keep the robot standing. The lift was stable, as was its return to the platform, suggesting that further development and an eventual unharnessed flight are possibly in the future.
All told, the robot with its jet turbines weighs in at 70kg, a not insignificant weight to be lugging around. Turbine controls are handled by an AI system that compensates for the high-speed gases and 1,000 newtons of lift generated by the four turbines. That the artificial humanoid looks like an Oompa Loompa in Tony Stark’s first Iron Man suit is just a bonus.
This test-flight is the result of two years of work by the Italian Institute of Technology. Future plans for the jet-powered humanoid will involve a dedicated testing area at Genoa Airport, which is handing over the space to the development team. Its presence on airport grounds suggests that actual, untethered flight is definitely envisioned.
Jetpack-fitted robots aren’t that odd when you consider that they’re also kickboxing, being given advanced facial structures (because… reasons), and being prepped to work at offshore facilities. Flying robots like this one have the potential for disaster recovery, space exploration, and terrifying the front lines of any land war on Earth. We’d like to believe that the first two uses will take precedence, but you know how military leaders are.
