Telescope Reviews: World of Robotics

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Speciality Forums >> Science! Astronomy & Space Exploration, and Others

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Scott Horstman
Vendor - Backyard Observatories

Reged: 03/11/04

Loc: Too Far North, USA

World of Robotics
#5582520 - 12/21/12 01:33 PM

The world of autonomous robotics has been progressing by leaps and bounds. I came across this DARPA LS3 video. Probably one of the coolest I've seen and potentially quite useful.

http://www.wimp.com/robotfollow/

Have a favorite? Share it here.

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Mister T
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 02/01/08

Loc: Upstate NY

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: Scott Horstman]
#5582654 - 12/21/12 03:10 PM

cool!

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Andy Taylor
Twisted, but in a Good Way

Reged: 09/24/08

Loc: The Pub. UK

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: Mister T]
#5582696 - 12/21/12 03:43 PM

Quote:

cool!

But I found it a bit unsettling...

Perhaps I read too much Phillip K Dick

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ColoHank
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 06/07/07

Loc: western Colorado

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: Andy Taylor]
#5583239 - 12/21/12 09:37 PM

That's a pretty remarkable engineering achievement, but I wonder what advantage there is in emulating a four-footed creature? It seems to me there'd be other forms of locomotion that are far more stable and adaptable when confronted with varying terrains -- like the Mars rovers, for example. Is this just one of those things that was done to prove it was possible?

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Scott Horstman
Vendor - Backyard Observatories

Reged: 03/11/04

Loc: Too Far North, USA

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: ColoHank]
#5583398 - 12/21/12 11:51 PM

Did animals evolve with wheels? Do big horn sheep have wheels?

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ColoHank
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 06/07/07

Loc: western Colorado

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: Scott Horstman]
#5583416 - 12/22/12 12:14 AM

Do autombiles have legs? Do military tanks? Should they?

I should think the intended application would dictate the mode of locomotion. For what application would four mechanical legs be better than wheels or tracks, slowly following a man through the woods and stumbling over logs?

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barasits
sage

Reged: 06/12/11

Loc: Chicago

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: ColoHank]
#5583460 - 12/22/12 12:44 AM

I agree with Hank. What the engineers have done is indeed impressive, but maybe they chose the wrong creature to emulate. A quadraped may not be the best model to follow. If it's supposed to serve as a pack animal then I'm not sure what advantage there would be over a real burro or llama.

Here's another biomimetic device:

MorpHex video

Geoff

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Scott Horstman
Vendor - Backyard Observatories

Reged: 03/11/04

Loc: Too Far North, USA

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: ColoHank]
#5583605 - 12/22/12 05:27 AM

Quote:

Do autombiles have legs? Do military tanks? Should they?

I should think the intended application would dictate the mode of locomotion. For what application would four mechanical legs be better than wheels or tracks, slowly following a man through the woods and stumbling over logs?

That's why big horn sheep came to mind. With that technology perfected the Mars rovers wouldn't be limited to basically flat land with small rocks.

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llanitedave
Humble Megalomaniac

Reged: 09/26/05

Loc: Amargosa Valley, NV, USA

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: Scott Horstman]
#5583923 - 12/22/12 11:34 AM

The most successful body plan on Earth is that of the insect. Six jointed legs can take you just about anywhere.

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ColoHank
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 06/07/07

Loc: western Colorado

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: llanitedave]
#5584061 - 12/22/12 01:02 PM

Particularly flying insects. Spiders also. And packrats can perform feats on cliff faces that bighorn sheep could only dream about. Maybe someone should develop a robotic packrat. It could be programmed to infiltrate enemy installations and steal military secrets. In trade, the robotic rat could leave prickly little cactus pads for the theft victims to impale themselves on, thereby adding injury to insult.

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Mister T
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 02/01/08

Loc: Upstate NY

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: llanitedave]
#5584101 - 12/22/12 01:30 PM

but a lot of that advantage comes from being small and light.

you could give me 2 more appendages and vise grip fingers and toes and there still aint no way my fat arse is hanging on the ceiling all day.

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Qwickdraw
sage

Reged: 03/03/12

Loc: Ann Arbor, Mi

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: llanitedave]
#5584200 - 12/22/12 02:33 PM

Quote:

The most successful body plan on Earth is that of the insect. Six jointed legs can take you just about anywhere.

I would disagree and have to nominate us humans. our shape apparently helped give rise to our intelligence and I can squish any insect or kill them all with insecticide if I wish. We can fly,swim,run,jump,climb or crawl.

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barasits
sage

Reged: 06/12/11

Loc: Chicago

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: Qwickdraw]
#5584326 - 12/22/12 04:19 PM

To expand a bit on Quickdraw's point, in terms of basic physical morphology, primates are generalists although some primate species show a real flair for certain types of locomotion (gibbons are fantastic brachiators, and we're pretty good at bipedalism). This physical generalism, which is something of a disadvantage when competing with specialists, did set the stage for our hominid ancestors to go in a new direction, the development of a new specialty--more complex brains, language, and behavioral plasticity. And now we're applying our specialty in intelligence to the creation of robotic devices with a certain amount of independent information processing ability.

So, if you want a robot that can go anywhere a human being can go, then maybe DARPA should consider more anthropomorphic designs. But there's no denying that Hank's robotic packrat would have a valuable demoralizing effect.

Geoff

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Scott Horstman
Vendor - Backyard Observatories

Reged: 03/11/04

Loc: Too Far North, USA

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: llanitedave]
#5584507 - 12/22/12 06:49 PM

Quote:

The most successful body plan on Earth is that of the insect. Six jointed legs can take you just about anywhere.

I was just watching some vids of six legged robots. Looks like there are some cool designs with a lot of potential but the 4 legged machines do seem to have matured more quickly. I'm guessing it's because the motion is simpler, less moving parts.

web page

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Mike Casey

Reged: 11/11/04

Loc: El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la...

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: Scott Horstman]
#5585609 - 12/23/12 01:19 PM

Put a saddle on the thing and ride it like a horse.

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Matthew Ota
Hmmm

Reged: 04/30/05

Loc: Long Beach, California

Re: World of Robotics new

[Re: Mike Casey]
#5695707 - 02/22/13 09:50 PM

It is designed to transport military equipment, similar to what mules used to do. They need to make it more quiet though, as it is too noisy and will alert the enemy.

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