WALK-MAN is a 4 years integrated project (IP) funded by the European Commission through the call FP7-ICT-2013-10. The project started on September 2013 and has the goal to develop a robotic platform (of an anthropomorphic form) which can operate outside the laboratory space in unstructured environments and work spaces as a result of natural and man-made disasters. The robot will demonstrate new skills including:
- Dextrous, powerful manipulation skills - e.g. turning a heavy valve of lifting collapsed masonry,
- Robust balanced locomotion - walking, crawling over uneven terrain surfaces
- Physical sturdiness - e.g. operating/manipulating conventional hand tools such as pneumatic drills or cutters.
- Furthermore the robot will have sufficient perception/cognitive ability to permit to operate in autonomously or under reduced tele-operation in case of severe communication limitations for remote control due to limited channel bandwidth and/or reliability). The robot will demonstrate human levels of locomotion, balance and manipulation and will be validated in realistic challenge tasks outside the laboratory environment.