Flexibility is the Key to a Good “Workout,” for Human-Resembling Robots

Engineers in Japan have constructed two humanoids that successfully replicate human-like movement during physical activity. The robots, named Kengoro and Kenshiro, can perform multiple push-ups, crunches, stretches and other whole-body exercises – feats not possible for earlier versions of human-mimicking bots to perform. Kengoro and Kenshiro’s developers say the humanoids may help researchers better understand how humans move during athletic sports, aid in the development of artificial limbs and whole bodies, and advance the design of crash-test dummies.