China is seeing a boom in its humanoid robot industry, with one of the latest models capable of performing continuous backflips.
The success of N2, a 1.3-meter-tall robot developed by a Beijing-based team, marks another major advancement in humanoid robot development.
Jiang Zheyuan, technical leader of the development team, explained the difficulties of performing backflips.
"A backflip is harder for the robot than a frontflip because the robot. Humans have longer front feet and shorter back feet, so in a backflip, the inertia makes it easier to fall on the back, whereas in a frontflip, the long front feet make it harder to fall forward. Therefore, doing a backflip is slightly harder than doing a frontflip," said Jiang.
Some innovative hardware designs by the team ensured the stability of the robot during backflips. For example, the heavy joints of the robot's limbs are placed closer to its crotch to make it easier for it to rotate in the air.
"This joint is not connected to its thigh, but to its knee by a connecting rod. By moving the joint upward, we minimized the inertia of its legs," Jiang explained.
More powerful rotors and lighter materials are also used to build the robot to give it stronger power.
Chinese engineers unveil new humanoid robot able to backflip
Russia announced on Friday that its forces had recaptured another settlement in the Kursk region previously held by Ukraine, while Ukraine reported on the same day that it had repelled 22 Russian attacks in the region, according to official statements from both sides.
The Russian Defense Ministry specified in a statement that its forces had reclaimed the settlement of Goncharovka in Kursk. The ministry also reported that Russia has regained control of 28 settlements in western Kursk over the past week.
In addition, the Ukrainian armed forces have lost more than 260 service members, five armored personnel carriers, two combat armored vehicles, four artillery pieces, two mortars, and three UAV control points on the frontlines in Kursk over the past 24 hours, according to the ministry.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported Friday that its forces had repelled 22 Russian attacks in the Kursk region.
On the same day, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service stated that since Thursday, border forces had detected a Russian assault unit attempting to re-enter Sumy, a Ukrainian region bordering Russia's Kursk region. Ukrainian forces successfully intercepted the Russian unit in Sumy, resulting in 15 Russian soldiers killed and more than 10 wounded, forcing the unit to retreat.
Russia claims control of another settlement in Kursk, Ukraine reports repelling multiple attacks
