Smart 'dog' completes skiing trials

A six-legged ski robot made by Shanghai Jiao Tong University has recently completed tests on snow tracks in Shenyang, Liaoning province, the university announced on Jan 17, 2022.

The ski robot, which resembles a dog with two additional legs holding ski sticks, attained a speed of more than 10 meters per second over 400 meters on an 18-degree snow track, and completed maneuvers such as accelerating, turning and avoiding obstacles.

The university said the ski robot team was designed by researchers from its school of mechanical engineering and school of electronic information and electrical engineering. The project was led by mechanical engineering professor Gao Feng.

The robot can plan its own ski route using technologies such as intelligent perception and braking control, and can be remotely controlled by people.

The university said the team has made many breakthroughs in developing the robot's key algorithm, and the project was supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology as one of its "high-tech Winter Games" plan.