disney’s human-scale stickman robot has amazing acrobatic skills

researchers at disney are showing off the early stages of research into a robotic stick with pretty amazing acrobatic abilities. the human-scale robot, dubbed ‘stickman’, boasts a simple two degree of freedom making it capable of aerial acrobatics such as backflips and trapeze stunts.

the robot uses an IMU and a laser range-finder to estimate its state mid-flight and actuates to change its motion both on and off the pendulum. when extended, stickman is seven feet tall, approximating ‘the height of a human stunt performer with arms raised over his or her head’.