Iron Man Soon To Appear In Real World, IIT Develops Triple-Threat Robot

Iron Man, a robot from a fictional film, is about to come to life in Italy. (photo credit: pixabay)

JAKARTA – Robotics research in the world has come a long way, but humans to this day still don't have the kind of sleek and sophisticated humanoid robots and mech suits seen in movies. But researchers at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) are now one step closer to achieving their sci-fi dream of an aerial humanoid robot.

The researchers want to build a triple-threat robot that can fly through the air, walk on the ground on two legs, and manipulate objects such as doors and valves. They say such robots could help check in and around buildings during natural disasters.

Plans to launch the robot have been in the works at IIT for several years, and researchers have recently started experimenting with an additional version of their iCub robot. The incredible iCub is “the size of a five-year-old”, says the IIT website.

"The robot can crawl on all fours, walk and sit to manipulate objects," the study was quoted as saying by sea.ign.com. Put some propulsion engines on that thing and it becomes an iRonCub.

The iRonCub, as the name suggests, has engines in its hands and feet that will hopefully allow it to fly like Iron Man. There's a lot of mathematicians involved in making Iron Man-esque flight happen, so the iRonCub isn't really up in the air yet, but it's going to have to take one step at a time in order to make it happen. This robotics project is claimed to be similar to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's Tesla Bot.