CHARLI, Hope For American Robotics

When on thinks of humanoid robots, the Japanese ASIMO or the Korean HUBO come to mind. The Virginia Tech College of Engineering’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory however, has brought America to the field with CHARLI. CHARLI, or Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence, is a lightweight walking robot capable of performing simple functions, like motioning with his arms. Made in 2008 with a budget of only $20,000, the 13 engineers, led my Ph.D. Dennis Hong, who designed CHARLI have brought new cost effective ideas to the robot development process, as opposed to ASIMO's cost of more than a million. Two versions exist, the lightweight version CHARLI-L, and a heavier version that is currently under development, CHARLI-H. This new version boasts more capabilities thanks to its sturdier legs, giving it the ability to handle sloped terrain and use its legs for tasks as well as its arms. The team who designed him are thinking he may be useful in homes helping the elderly or the otherwise challenged. If this concept proves successful, who knows how much development could result.