A six-legged robot developed by Shanghai Jiao Tong University can race with human competitors in the same field and do patrol and rescue in snow mountains to help create a safe environment for skiers, Xinhua reported on January 23.

Earlier this month, the robot made its debut by completing several skiing tests on tracks in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. It resembles a dog with four legs fixed on its body for balance and two extra legs holding ski poles. The robot skied down at a speed of more than 10 meters per second over 400 meters on an 18-degree snow track. It can perform many maneuvers such as accelerating, turning, route planning, avoiding obstacles, and human-robot interaction. 

Source: Xinhua

The robot is developed by Professor Gao Feng and his team from the university's School of Mechanical Engineering and School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering. 

The team built a brain - an intelligent system for the robot with its algorithm to enable it to analyze human skiers' behaviors and mimic human skiing movements. 

The university told Xinhua that the robot by remote control can race with human competitors in the same field in the future, with the assistance of advanced technologies such as 5G and wireless networks, 

Apart from testing their mettle in skiing competitions, the robot will also do patrol and rescue in snow mountains to help create a safe environment for skiers, the university said.