https://youtu.be/8URvrBUc-AQ
Ivan Sutherland's Trojan Cockroach
Published on Jan 10, 2016
Posner Center, Carnegie Mellon University
An exhibit by Daniel Pillis & Chris Atkeson
January 15th- May 2016
Ivan Sutherland’s Trojan Cockroach tells the story of computer graphics, walking machines, and the origins of the technology underlying modern advances in robots. The protagonist of the exhibit, Ivan Sutherland, is often considered the father of computer graphics. An alum of Carnegie Tech in the 1950’s, Sutherland went on to develop one of the first human computer interfaces for graphics at MIT.
In the 1980’s, Sutherland returned to CMU and worked with a group of graduate students to create “The Trojan Cockroach”, a six legged hexapod walking machine, considered to be the first man-carrying computer-controlled walking machine.
The story of this robot is part of a larger conversation about how to replicate biological skill and agility in machines. What should the brain do? What should the body do? The philosophy at CMU was that "intelligence" should be built into the body, to provide fast stable reflexes and simplify what the brain has to do. Sutherland used hydraulics to coordinate legs. Marc Raibert put physical springs to generate hopping behavior into robots at his "Leg Laboratory", which then led to the quadrupeds Big Dog and Spot at Boston Dynamics.
Ivan Sutherland’s Trojan Cockroach will be on display at the Posner Center on Carnegie Mellon campus from January 15 through early May 2016. Featuring artifacts from the original robot, a history of Sutherland’s work, rare and hard to find images of walking robots, as well as previously unseen video footage and a virtual reality simulation, this exhibition showcases the history of Ivan’s work as well as the role walking machines have in the development of the field of robotics. For more information, please contact Daniel Pillis at
[email protected] or 908-902-9559.