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Chinese robotic triceratops skeleton packs Linux, no horns
FROG (Four-legged Robot for Optimal Gait) has a ways to go before it can become a real dinosaur. The camouflaged robot is a prototype of a triceratops skeleton designed by Dr. Wei Wang and a number of PhD students at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Automation, and is downright timid compared to, say, Boston Dynamics' horn-wielding BigDog robot. It has joint angle sensors, acceleration sensors, a pan-tilt camera, and a number of other sensing devices. The robot has a Linux system inside and communicates wirelessly with a host computer -- though it still requires a plug for power. Dr. Wang hopes that the 'bot will show up in museums or other dinosaur exhibits when it's a bit more complete. He balks at comparisons to our beloved BigDog, however, since it has DC Motors and isn't hydraulic, so don't expect this herbivorous reptile to carry your luggage over rocky terrain any time soon.
