Robots Using Legs as Arms to Climb and Push Buttons

We’ve gotten used to thinking of quadrupedal robots as robotic versions of dogs. And, to be fair, it’s right there in the word “quadrupedal.” But if we can just get past the Latin, there’s absolutely no reason why quadrupedal robots have to restrict themselves to using all four of their limbs as legs all of the time. And in fact, most other quadrupeds are versatile like this: four-legged animals frequently use their front limbs to interact with the world around them for non-locomotion purposes.

Roboticists at CMU and UC Berkeley are training robot dogs to use their legs for…