A lot of research is going on at different points on the globe to create a robot that can walk with the same fluidity and balance as a human or animal.
I had a dreamy thought that all the developers in the world could contribute to this research by creating a virtual man/robot and getting that man to stand, walk, sit and so on.
The ideas developed and shared here could then be used to propel robotics - hopefully for the good of man and not for profit and control!
Let's start this in javascript - using HTML canvas in a 3D context. Javascript will be a good starting point for it's rapid and interactive developmentness.
So, pull this, and add yourself to the bottom of this readme with a description of how you'd like to contribute. We'll also need some seniour devs to manage the process here.
(As for me, I'd just like to be a part of something cool and learn from masters... )
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building the man and linking the limbs and add restraints on joints, etc (skeleton).
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Making said man's limbs and body respond to foces like gravity while respecting restraints and joints (collapsing to the floor).
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Getting that man to stand, using internal forces (muscles) to maintain an equilibrium between weights and gravity.
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Getting that same man to hold his balance while affected by outside forces like wind or moving floor. Altering posture or stance in order to keep his balance.
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Giving that man the ability to apply internal forces to his body (muscles)
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Ensuring the man can maintain his balance while applying internal forces (muscles) and responding to outside forces (wind, slopes,booze) - moving, walking!
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Ability to immediately recalibrate based on new weights, limb dimensions and contraints on limbs and body to maintain balance.
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Intention - move body and objects in the environment - throwing, pushing - while mainting balance.
Once we have a working, interactive virtual man (ambitious, but awesome!), we'll be able to use this for a working bot's concept of his world - A model based design where the virtual idea the robot has of himself and his surroundings would drive his physical movements, while feedback from his physical self are recalibrated into his virtual self and so on...