Earlier this week, researchers had discovered how to make robots fall more gracefully, but maybe having them just roll around all over the place is the real solution. That's at least what you'll probably think after seeing the QRoSS-II in action.

This quadraped robot built by Takeshi Aoki, Satoshi Ito and Yosuke Sei of Japan's Chiba Institute of Technology can store its legs inside a spherical shell and then break them out to walk around when it needs to.

"In rescue operations at a disaster site, carrying robots into a site is dangerous for operators because doing so may result in a second accident," according to the abstract of the researchers' paper presented at the 2015 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in Hamburg, Germany earlier this month. "If QRoSS is used, instead of carrying robots in, they are thrown in, making the operation safe and easy."

When the QRoss is rolled or thrown in, its spherical shell helps it avoid being damaged, especially if its legs do slip and fall while walking on particularly rough terrain, according to IEEE Spectrum. The robot's ability to roll also makes for faster transportation.

The researchers had a lot of inspiration for QRoSS, both real and fictional. This includes the real-life Transformer MorpHex MKIII designed by Norwegian robot builder Kåre Halvorsen, Haro the rolling robot from the Gundam anime series and the Droidekas from Star Wars, according to IEEE Spectrum.

Researchers are still in the process of studying the robot's mobility techniques and characteristics, so it's unclear if or when we could see them out and about in everyday life. If nothing else, the QRoSS sure is fun to watch roll around for now.

Via: TechCrunch