A recent study shows that the unique constitution of caterpillar bodies could give ideas to develop robots with soft bodies.
Speaking of what was dubbed as a "two-body" system, Barry Trimmer, a professor of biology and of natural sciences at Tufts University, said in a university news release, "Understanding this novel motion system may help efforts to design soft-bodied robots. It may also prompt re-examination of the potential role soft tissues play in biomechanical performance of humans and other animals."
Not only would the focus be on the exterior of the caterpillar and how that would effect external robotic design, but the interior of the caterpillar as well.
Trimmer added, "The focus to date has been on robots' external design, but we also have to look at how it's most advantageous to arrange the inside of the robot and any payload. Would motion be enhanced, for example, by packing more mass toward the rear, as these caterpillars seem to do?"
The U.S. National Science Foundation funded the initial research.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
South Korea's SGR-1 Machine-Gun Robots
With tensions mounting between North and South Korea, South Korea has decided to deploy robots throughout the 160-mile DMZ.
The primary developer of the robot is Samsung Techwin, which are identified as SGR-1 robots.
"Human soldiers can easily fall asleep or allow for the depreciation of their concentration over time," said Samsung Techwin spokesman Huh Kwang-hak. "But these robots have automatic surveillance, which doesn't leave room for anything resembling human laziness. They also won't have any fear (of) enemy attackers on the front lines."
The SGR-1s cost 200,000 each, and are remote controlled, working together with other related technology like radar and cameras.
For the machine guns mounted on the cameras, they are 5.5 millimeter, with a 40-millimeter automatic grenade launcher included.
The robots are able to fire automatically on targets, and must have a human operator give it permission to attack.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Robots Start Work on BP (NYSE:BP) Containment Cap
If BP (NYSE:BP) can successfully put a new containment cap on the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico using underwater robots, they should be able to contain the vast majority of oil spilling into the region.
The robot submarines will take off the old cap and replace with the new, or at least attempt to. There are a number of backup caps to put back on if the attempt fails.
The new cap will fit tighter and keep almost all of the oil from leaking, and would result in capturing up to 80,000 barrels a day, including a new vessel which would be attached to another part of the leak.
"This new sealing cap has not been deployed at these depths or under these conditions, and there can be no assurance that the sealing cap will be successfully installed or installed within the anticipated timeframe," BP said in a statement.
If successful, it will effectively stop the leaking oil well, while waiting for the relief wells to be put into effect, which will be the permanent solution to the leak.
The robot submarines will take off the old cap and replace with the new, or at least attempt to. There are a number of backup caps to put back on if the attempt fails.
The new cap will fit tighter and keep almost all of the oil from leaking, and would result in capturing up to 80,000 barrels a day, including a new vessel which would be attached to another part of the leak.
"This new sealing cap has not been deployed at these depths or under these conditions, and there can be no assurance that the sealing cap will be successfully installed or installed within the anticipated timeframe," BP said in a statement.
If successful, it will effectively stop the leaking oil well, while waiting for the relief wells to be put into effect, which will be the permanent solution to the leak.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Robot Centipedes About to be Put to Work
Small robot insects looking like and built like centipedes may be released into specific circumstances which require certain tasks to be accomplished.
The new thing about these microrobots is their ability to carry much more than their own weight, which could ultimately lead to them being independent. That means they may be able to carry a power source.
That leads to another challenge: There really aren't any power sources out there at this time which would all them to run much more than about 10 minutes. If that can be overcome, some of the potential tasks they could be sent to do would be more realistic, and done in a efficient time frame.
All microrobots at this time, including these new ones from the University of Washington, are only able to move at a snails' pace of about 3 feet an hour. Some are much slower than that, which could be detrimental to their purpose if time is a factor in their missions.
The big advancement in these little robots is the ability to carry far more than their weight. That provides the potential for a power source to be created which would allow it to operate for much longer periods of time.
The new thing about these microrobots is their ability to carry much more than their own weight, which could ultimately lead to them being independent. That means they may be able to carry a power source.
That leads to another challenge: There really aren't any power sources out there at this time which would all them to run much more than about 10 minutes. If that can be overcome, some of the potential tasks they could be sent to do would be more realistic, and done in a efficient time frame.
All microrobots at this time, including these new ones from the University of Washington, are only able to move at a snails' pace of about 3 feet an hour. Some are much slower than that, which could be detrimental to their purpose if time is a factor in their missions.
The big advancement in these little robots is the ability to carry far more than their weight. That provides the potential for a power source to be created which would allow it to operate for much longer periods of time.
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