Military Robotics
Talk about twisted minds, Robotic Technology Inc.'s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot — or "EATR" will be able to fuel itself by digesting any type of organic material it can find, including dead human bodies. Maybe we should call it robo-zombie.
A Maryland company under contract to the Pentagon is working on a steam-powered robot that would fuel itself by eating up whatever organic material it can find — grass, wood and even dead bodies; whether human or otherwise.
Robotic Technology Inc.'s Energetically Autonomous Tactical Robot — that's right, "EATR" — "can find, ingest, and extract energy from biomass in the environment (and other organically-based energy sources), as well as use conventional and alternative fuels (such as gasoline, heavy fuel, kerosene, diesel, propane, coal, cooking oil, and solar) when suitable."
That "biomass" and "other organically-based energy sources" wouldn't necessarily be limited to plant material — animal and human corpses contain plenty of energy, and they'd be plentiful in a war zone.
EATR will be powered by the Waste Heat Engine developed by Cyclone Power Technology of Pompano Beach, Fla., which uses an "external combustion chamber" burning up fuel to heat up water in a closed loop, generating electricity.
The advantages to the military are that the robot would be extremely flexible in fuel sources and could roam on its own for months, even years, without having to be refueled or serviced.
Upon the EATR platform, the Pentagon could build all sorts of things — a transport, an ambulance, a communications center, even a mobile gunship.
In other words, EATR is a foundation that just about any type of robot could be built, and for any purpose. A little creepy that a robotic entity would be allowed to roam for years while refueling itself on whatever it can find.
I wonder how they make the decision on whether humans or animals are alive?
Robotic Trends
Showing posts with label Military Robots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Military Robots. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Medical Robot | Robot Treats Battle Injuries
Medical Robot
A new robot that is able to find small pieces of shrapnel in flesh and guides a needle to the exact location could aid in treating battle injuries, according to researchers in North Carolina.
"It can be very difficult using conventional means to detect small pieces of shrapnel, especially in the field," Duke University researcher Stephen Smith said. "The military has an extensive program of exploring the use of surgical robots in the field, and this advance could play a role."
Other uses for the robot could be for medical procedures, such as removing radioactive "seeds" used to treat cancers and extracting foreign, metallic objects from the eye, Smith said.
Using ultrasound technology and 3-D moving images, the Duke robot, without human assistance, located tiny pieces of metal in water baths, then directed a needle on the end of a robotic arm to the exact location, Smith said.
"The movement caused by the electromagnet on the shrapnel was not visible to the human eye," researcher A.J. Rogers said. "However, on the 3-D color Doppler system, the moving shrapnel stood out plainly as bright red."
Medical Robot
A new robot that is able to find small pieces of shrapnel in flesh and guides a needle to the exact location could aid in treating battle injuries, according to researchers in North Carolina.
"It can be very difficult using conventional means to detect small pieces of shrapnel, especially in the field," Duke University researcher Stephen Smith said. "The military has an extensive program of exploring the use of surgical robots in the field, and this advance could play a role."
Other uses for the robot could be for medical procedures, such as removing radioactive "seeds" used to treat cancers and extracting foreign, metallic objects from the eye, Smith said.
Using ultrasound technology and 3-D moving images, the Duke robot, without human assistance, located tiny pieces of metal in water baths, then directed a needle on the end of a robotic arm to the exact location, Smith said.
"The movement caused by the electromagnet on the shrapnel was not visible to the human eye," researcher A.J. Rogers said. "However, on the 3-D color Doppler system, the moving shrapnel stood out plainly as bright red."
Medical Robot
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Robots | Global Robotics Industry Report for 2008
*The global robotics industry was worth $17.3 billion in 2008 and an estimated $17.6 billion in 2009. This should reach $21.4 billion in 2014, for a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.0%.
*The industrial robots segment is the largest segment, worth $11.5 billion in 2008. This is expected to decrease slightly to $10.5 billion in 2009, and then grow at a CAGR of 2.8% to reach $12.1 billion in 2014.
*Professional service robots is the second largest segment, generating $3.3 billion in 2008. This should increase to $4.0 billion in 2009 and $5.4 billion in 2014, for a CAGR of 6.0%.
Robotics: Technologies and Global Markets views the robotics industry as presently divided into six types of robots defined by their application:
industrial robots
domestic service robots
professional robots
military robots
security robots and
space robots
Robotics: Technologies and Global Markets recognizes the European Union’s ambitious attempt to establish uncontested leadership in robotics, through the creation of the European Robotic Platform (EUROP) funded jointly by businesses and government. Along these lines, Chapter Three: Common Concerns addresses all of the technical issues identified by EUROP’s working groups. This chapter is equally useful to U.S. and Japanese companies interested in further developing sales in European markets.
Robotics: Technologies and Global Markets is the first study with product demand forecasts that reflect:
The collapse of capital funding for new robot purchases.
The collapse of consumer credit for the purchase of robot–made goods.
The World Bank’s downward adjustment of the gdp in India and China.
The effect of the 2009 U.S. economic stimulus package.
*The industrial robots segment is the largest segment, worth $11.5 billion in 2008. This is expected to decrease slightly to $10.5 billion in 2009, and then grow at a CAGR of 2.8% to reach $12.1 billion in 2014.
*Professional service robots is the second largest segment, generating $3.3 billion in 2008. This should increase to $4.0 billion in 2009 and $5.4 billion in 2014, for a CAGR of 6.0%.
Robotics: Technologies and Global Markets views the robotics industry as presently divided into six types of robots defined by their application:
industrial robots
domestic service robots
professional robots
military robots
security robots and
space robots
Robotics: Technologies and Global Markets recognizes the European Union’s ambitious attempt to establish uncontested leadership in robotics, through the creation of the European Robotic Platform (EUROP) funded jointly by businesses and government. Along these lines, Chapter Three: Common Concerns addresses all of the technical issues identified by EUROP’s working groups. This chapter is equally useful to U.S. and Japanese companies interested in further developing sales in European markets.
Robotics: Technologies and Global Markets is the first study with product demand forecasts that reflect:
The collapse of capital funding for new robot purchases.
The collapse of consumer credit for the purchase of robot–made goods.
The World Bank’s downward adjustment of the gdp in India and China.
The effect of the 2009 U.S. economic stimulus package.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Robot Bomb Removal
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 19, 2009) -- Robotic technologies were used to detect and remove unexploded ordnance from training ranges at Fort Bliss, Texas, Feb. 10 in a demonstration sponsored by the U.S. Army Environmental Command.
Experts from the Army's Environmental Command joined bloggers for a special roundtable discussion on how the demonstration went and how robotics could improve safety, efficiency, and provide cost-savings in UXO removal.
"There's two things that we're doing," said Kimberly Watts of the Environmental Command. "We wanted to demonstrate to make sure that the equipment was actually working the way we were hoping that it would. It did. Yes, definitely for smaller areas. Yes, we need to scale up for the larger areas, larger ranges, but, you know, there are applications for it right now."
The command evaluated two basic robotics systems the Air Force Research Lab has developed: the All-Purpose Remote Transport System, or ARTS, and the Automated Ordnance Excavator, known as AOE.
The systems are remotely operated with attachments that can be added to aid with brush removal and extraction, said Gene Fabian, Range Sustainment Program Manager, U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center.
A third unit that has been demonstrated previously is an Advanced Mobility Research and Development System, or AMRADS unit. It is an autonomous unit that is used frequently for physical surveying because of its ability to run on its own based on plugged-in boundaries, Fabian said.
Fabian likened AMRADS to the Zamboni of hockey fame, saying its general pattern is very similar to what you'll see on the ice rink. But rather than washing away scuffs and chips, AMRADS will identify metallic anomalies in the area surveyed, before and after removal operations.
"We typically use that Zamboni pattern to make sure we get complete coverage," said Fabian. "And the data for our geophysical detection devices is very clean because it's very precise, fast: it tells you where to go. It doesn't waddle and wander all over the site like a human being would be, so we actually get much better data quality by using the robotic system."
Speed is critical for the U.S. Army, which currently has many areas in need of surveying and a limited supply of UXO technicians. They're looking at robotic removal options to make a big difference as they clear and maintain range sites, Fabian said.
But speed isn't the only factor - costs are also expected to be lower with the robotic technologies, according to Watts. They're currently using off-the-shelf technologies fitted with the robotics package. Combine that with the time savings and increased safety, robotics UXO removal could potentially benefit the Army's Range Modernization Program as well as Army clean up, Watts said.
Experts from the Army's Environmental Command joined bloggers for a special roundtable discussion on how the demonstration went and how robotics could improve safety, efficiency, and provide cost-savings in UXO removal.
"There's two things that we're doing," said Kimberly Watts of the Environmental Command. "We wanted to demonstrate to make sure that the equipment was actually working the way we were hoping that it would. It did. Yes, definitely for smaller areas. Yes, we need to scale up for the larger areas, larger ranges, but, you know, there are applications for it right now."
The command evaluated two basic robotics systems the Air Force Research Lab has developed: the All-Purpose Remote Transport System, or ARTS, and the Automated Ordnance Excavator, known as AOE.
The systems are remotely operated with attachments that can be added to aid with brush removal and extraction, said Gene Fabian, Range Sustainment Program Manager, U.S. Army Aberdeen Test Center.
A third unit that has been demonstrated previously is an Advanced Mobility Research and Development System, or AMRADS unit. It is an autonomous unit that is used frequently for physical surveying because of its ability to run on its own based on plugged-in boundaries, Fabian said.
Fabian likened AMRADS to the Zamboni of hockey fame, saying its general pattern is very similar to what you'll see on the ice rink. But rather than washing away scuffs and chips, AMRADS will identify metallic anomalies in the area surveyed, before and after removal operations.
"We typically use that Zamboni pattern to make sure we get complete coverage," said Fabian. "And the data for our geophysical detection devices is very clean because it's very precise, fast: it tells you where to go. It doesn't waddle and wander all over the site like a human being would be, so we actually get much better data quality by using the robotic system."
Speed is critical for the U.S. Army, which currently has many areas in need of surveying and a limited supply of UXO technicians. They're looking at robotic removal options to make a big difference as they clear and maintain range sites, Fabian said.
But speed isn't the only factor - costs are also expected to be lower with the robotic technologies, according to Watts. They're currently using off-the-shelf technologies fitted with the robotics package. Combine that with the time savings and increased safety, robotics UXO removal could potentially benefit the Army's Range Modernization Program as well as Army clean up, Watts said.
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