HyTAQ Robot Traverses Land And Air

Over the past year, we’ve seen robots that can do pretty much anything. So why not combine those abilities to make a robot that can do, well, everything?

Engineers at the Illinois Institute of Technology’s Robotics Lab are beginning to do just that with the HyTAQ, or the Hybrid Terrestrial and Aerial Quadrotor.

“[The HyTAQ robot] is a novel mobile robot capable of both aerial and terrestrial locomotion. Flight is achieved through a quadrotor configuration; four actuators provide the required thrust. Adding a rolling cage to the quadrotor makes terrestrial locomotion possible using the same actuator set and control system. Thus, neither the mass nor the system complexity is increased by inclusion of separate actuators for terrestrial and aerial locomotion.”

Housed in a rounded cage-like structure, the HyTAQ can traverse the ground by rolling or, if the terrain gets too rough, can instantly take flight.

You hear that? Run as you might, you’ll never escape the HyTAQ.

It will find you.