One Big Step for New Age : Engineer’s Walking Robot Wins International Prize

Walking on two legs is a quite a feat. It takes the average human several months to learn how to do it, and even then slips and falls are common.

Consider, then, the accomplishment of programming a brainless, robotic creature to coordinate six legs to walk, climb and traverse varying terrain.

For that accomplishment Stephen J. Bartholet, a senior staff engineer at Odetics Inc. in Anaheim, has been named the first recipient of the Jean Vertut Award, named after the internationally recognized French scientist and robotics expert who died in 1985. The award will be presented April 29 at the International Symposium on Industrial Robots Conference in Chicago.

Bartholet, who has been at Odetics since 1970, was selected for the honor for his work coordinating the six legs of ODEX 1, the industrial robot unveiled by Odetics in March, 1983, after 15 months of development work.

The innovative leg design on the robot has since qualified for four U. S. patents, all held in Bartholet’s name.

The unique features of ODEX 1 allow it to continuously coordinate each of its six legs with all other legs while crossing changing terrain. The robot was developed to handle tasks considered unsuitable or hazardous for humans, including cleaning hazardous waste and standing sentry duty in remote areas.

Bartholet was nominated for the Vertut award by the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto. The institute has contracted with Odetics to build a six-legged robot to handle power plant maintenance tasks. The system, scheduled for delivery in 1988, is based on work pioneered by Bartholet in ODEX 1.

ODEX 1 was on display at the entrance of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History through most of 1986. It is currently on loan to the Museum of Science in Boston.