While you've been listening to a lot of urban delivery robots lately, which rely on four wheels to move around city sidewalks, the Mighty robot has brought something new, using rotating wheels mounted on articulated legs. One of the problems with some of the existing delivery robots is that they're basically just "smart" lockable boxes with two sets of power wheels at the bottom.
This setup is fine for autonomously speeding on smooth sidewalks, but it doesn't perform very well for obstacles that cross the curb, climb steps, or otherwise cross the real world.
Mighty, developed by Japanese robotics company Piezo Sonic, is all about doing just that. In fact, it's actually designed based on the concept of a lunar exploration robot — and there are no smooth sidewalks on the moon.
First, its four independently powered wheels can point straight ahead for normal cruising, or they can all rotate 90 degrees to point to the side – and then the robot can move directly to one side or the other. If all four wheels turn inward or outward partially, Mighty can rotate in place.
In addition, each wheel is mounted on its own hinged legs. This means that as the robot moves on uneven terrain, each leg can be bent independently to compensate and keep the robot's body relatively level. In addition, it can also use this function to climb several shallow sets of buildings without tipping backwards.
Like other wheeled delivery robots, Mighty uses GPS to navigate cities, in addition to using cameras and LiDAR sensors to avoid pedestrians and other dangerous objects. According to Piezo Sonic, it can carry about 20 kilograms of cargo, cross obstacles up to 15 centimeters, climb a slope of 15 degrees and reach a maximum speed of 10km/h. The robot weighs 25 kilograms and is estimated to be able to run for about four hours per charge.
In addition to delivery, other possible applications include security patrols at facilities or performing tasks such as harvesting produce and soil sampling on farms (although with the help of additional robotic arms).
According to the plan, Mighty will initially be operational in Tokyo's Ota ward. It recently received an Innovation Award at CES 2022.