This might come as a surprise to some, but it’s not just the far east, Europe and the US that are involved in the humanoid-building industry. Proof of that is Turkey’s brand new SURALP (Sabanci University Robot Research Laboratory Platform) robot, which was unveiled after an eight year development process.

The robot is rather straight-forward in nature, and stands at 5 feet 4 inches, weighing around 250 pounds. It can rotate its arms, legs, head and torso, possessing 29 degrees of freedom, and looks sort of like an astronaut. Besides cameras that allow it to see where it’s going, SURALP employs gyro sensors to help keep its balance. It is also smart enough to reach out its arms and steady itself against a wall if it feels in danger of falling.

SURALP can do different things, which it demonstrated at its unveiling. It can pick up and throw away trash, walk backwards and forwards, and even perform something resembling a dance. The below video of it walking doesn’t make it look too steady, but it stays on its feet, which is the important thing.

Japan did help out a little bit, at least by providing inspiration to associate Professor Kemalettin Erbatur, the man who designed the robot, when he visited Yokohama National University. Still, it’s nice to see other countries getting involved in such projects, and $1 million is actually not a lot of money to spend on the development of a humanoid robot. The cost of developing such experimental robots has declined steadily over the years since HONDA begun development of Asimo in the late 1980s. SURLAP may not change the entire robotics world, but it is a step forward to a more combined global-effort. After all, to achieve progress in anything we need new and diverse ideas, and relying only on one or two regions to carry A.I. research won’t be very advantageous.

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