Even if Glette’s ideas remain visions of the future, the robotics team in the Informatics Building has already developed three generations of self-learning robots. Professor Mats Høvin was the man behind the first model, a chicken-robot named “Henriette” that received a lot of media coverage when it was launched ten years ago. Henriette had to teach itself how to walk and jump over obstacles. And if it lost a leg, it had to learn, unaided, how to hop on the other leg.

A few years later, Master’s student Tønnes Nygaard launched the second generation robot. At the same time, the Informatics team developed a simulation program that was able to calculate what the body should look like. Just as with Henriette, the number of legs was pre-determined, but the computer program was at liberty to design the length of the legs and the distance between them.

The third generation of robots brings even greater flexibility. The simulation program takes care of the complete design and suggests the optimal number of legs and joints. 

“We tell the simulation program what we would like the robot to do, how fast it should walk, its size and energy consumption. For instance, we may want the robot to be able to turn around and change directions, climb over boulders, and walk on rugged ground,” says Kyrre Glette.

In response, the simulation program suggests the optimal solution, including the shape of the body and the number of legs. It simulates thousands of possibilities and produces the best models by means of artificial evolution. In other words, the computer program comes up with a set of proposals for different robots designed for optimal functionality. “None of them is intrinsically better than the others. The only difference is their strategies for solving the tasks,” says research fellow Eivind Samuelsen.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to arrive at the perfect solution by way of simulation, because our wish list of what we want the robots to do is becoming increasingly complicated.

The robotics team is currently comparing the performance of five robots that should be equally good in theory. Three of the five robots have four legs, one has three, the last has six. Fewer legs  consume less energy. One of the robots is fitted with single-joint legs. The others have legs with two joints. 

“It may well be that the best solution would be to use three joints, but this would mean that the energy consumption would be far too high.”
Just like in the natural world, the researchers have therefore opted to restrict the number of joints to two. “Single-jointed legs enable the robot to walk forward efficiently, but it will find it difficult to turn around,” Glette points out. 

To test the robots, the researchers set up an obstacle course to enable the robots to teach themselves how to overcome the hurdles. The researchers hope that in future, the robots will be able to give automatic feedback to the simulation program about how well they work, so that the computer will be in a position to design an even better robot the next time around.
“Once we have further perfected the robots, we will also test how they work if printed out of a softer material.”

3D printers make it possible to create sophisticated robots and other objects. 
“This is because a 3D printer will construct whatever you want it to, layer by layer. This means that you don’t have to bother with moulds, and you can produce seemingly impossibly complicated structures as a single piece. You can replicate perfect shapes and structures which are otherwise beyond the realm of possibility. Our imagination is the only limit.”

A 3D printer can also print objects with large cavities, such as a ship in a bottle.
“The 3D printout is based on a mathematical model, described as polygons, of whatever it is you want to print,” says Mats Høvin, who is currently testing out the technical production limits, like how thin or thick the legs of the robot can be.

There are a number of different types of 3D printers.
“Some produce printouts in steel, titanium and plastic. Others print fabrics. Organ printing has become very popular. Before the surgeons perform an operation, they can print out a copy of the patient to practice on. Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet is already employing this technology to design skeletal parts for hip replacement patients.”

The printers at the University of Oslo cost between 400,000 and three million NOK. The more expensive, the better the detail.
“NATO wants to use the printers to create spare parts for replacing damaged ones during field operations. This would require same-day fabrication. Some pastry chefs are already using 3D printers to bake sophisticated cakes. There are even printers that build houses. This means that the building contractor can set up an enormous crane that prints the entire building, including the cement, the insulation and everything else. Clever! And you won’t have to bother getting workmen in,” says Mats Høvin.

Not all 3D printers produce their output layer by layer. Some 3D printers mill the superfluous material off blocks. The latest printers can combine milling and layering techniques in the same operation. “This ensures a higher level of precision.” One of the main benefits for the robotics team at Blindern is the short route from the ideas stage to the robot-testing stage.
“Nevertheless, there are many practical challenges ahead before our robots can be exploited commercially. Our greatest challenge is to develop robust algorithms and a system that can make use of imprecise simulations,” says Kyrre Glette.

First published in Apollon Research Magazine