According to a report from IEEE Spectrum, robotics engineers of the Institute of Technology Italian (IIT) have just tested a jet suit on a humanoid robot called iRonCub.
IIT’s jet engine is similar in design to the famous Gravity Industries flight suit, except that it was tested on a robot. Accordingly, iRonCub will fly high with the help of four jet engines. But the most difficult thing is to make sure the robot doesn’t catch fire or explode in mid-air due to exhaust fumes from the engine
IIT engineers had to supplement the robot with a pair of silver fireproof pants, which helped the robot fly safely to a certain height without exploding.
iRonCub isn’t the only humanoid robot being tested in flight. Last October, scientists from the California Institute of Technology (USA) also announced a two-legged robot that combines a drone (automatic flying device) that can both fly, skateboard, and balance on a rope.
Daniele Pucci, head of the Artificial Intelligence and Mechanics lab at IIT, says experiments with humanoid robots will pave the way for people to use jet suits to fly in the future.
He said that the flight suit of Richard Browning (founder of Gravity Industries) shows that this technology is possible, but for widespread application, there is still a long way to go. Therefore, the experiments with the iRonCub robot will help shorten the process of researching somewhat flight technology for humans.