Avatar-style walking robots become a reality in South Korean lab

A manned biped walking robot ‘Method-2’ walks during a demonstration in Gunpo, South Korea. Designed by a veteran of science fiction blockbusters, the four-metre-tall (13-foot), 1.5-tonne machine towers over a room. (REUTERS)

Updated on: Dec 27, 2016 6:14 PM IST

News

Share via

• 
• 
• 
• 

Copy link

• 

1/7

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Dec 27, 2016 6:14 PM

A manned biped walking robot ‘Method-2’ walks during a demonstration in Gunpo, South Korea. Designed by a veteran of science fiction blockbusters, the four-metre-tall (13-foot), 1.5-tonne machine towers over a room. (REUTERS)

2/7

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Dec 27, 2016 6:14 PM

Engineers test humanoid Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology. The hulking human-like creation bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie “Avatar”. (AFP)

3/7

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Dec 27, 2016 6:14 PM

An employee sits inside the control room of the manned biped walking robot Method-2 during a demonstration. It is claimed as a world-first by its creators at Hankook Mirae Technology, a South Korean robotics company, where about 30 engineers were hard at work conducting initial tests Tuesday afternoon. (REUTERS)

4/7

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Dec 27, 2016 6:14 PM

The robot, more than twice the size of a tall man, is so heavy that it shakes the ground when it takes a step with a loud whirring of motors. (REUTERS)

5/7

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Dec 27, 2016 6:14 PM

Building the giant robot was a challenge for the engineers -- most of them in their mid and late 30s -- as its unprecedented scale meant they had nothing to refer to. (AFP)

6/7

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Dec 27, 2016 6:14 PM

So far, it remains unclear how the robot will be used. Method-2 is seen more as a test-bed for various technologies that will allow the creators to build any type and size of robot in future. (Kim Hong-Ji/REUTERS)

7/7

View Photos in a new improved layout

Published on Dec 27, 2016 6:14 PM

While its enormous size has grabbed media attention, the creators of Method-2 say the project’s core achievement is the technology they developed and enhanced along the way. (Kim Hong-Ji/REUTERS)