(Credit:
Boston Dynamics)
Here's another offering from Boston Dynamics' zoomorphic line: the RiSE V3, a multi-legged, beaver-tailed robot that can skitter along the ground, shimmy up a pole, and then quietly cling there and stare at you.
The legs are powered by a pair of electric motors and equipped with small surgical needle micro-claws, which allow the unit to dig into and climb up textured, convex, cylindrical structures at a rate of 21 centimeters per second, or just under a half a mile an hour (PDF).
"RiSE V3 is the first general-purpose legged machine to achieve this vertical climbing speed," said University of Pennsylvania Professor Daniel Koditschek, who worked on the project.
The RiSE was the result of a collaboration between Boston Dynamics, the University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon, U.C. Berkeley, Stanford, and Lewis and Clark University, with funding by DARPA.
As with the company's now famous BigDog, what distinguishes this robotic creation is its freakishly familiar gait. RiSE uses a distinctive, koala-like climbing pace, or behavioral gait, propelling the body forward while passively maintaining yaw, pitch, and roll stability. Locomotion--leg motion, strain, and joint position and foot contact sensors--is controlled by an onboard computer, naturally. The front legs are just long enough to hug a telephone pole.
The development team's aim was to reproduce movements they had observed in climbing insects. This is something else that sets this wall climber apart. Most other climbing robots have generally relied on "surface-specific attachment mechanisms," i.e. magnets and suction devices.
Watch a video of RiSE V3 below.
SRI International has announced the development of a wall-climbing robot that uses a new electrical adhesive technology called "compliant electroadhesion" that can stick to anything from brick to glass--even damp, dirty glass.
(Credit:
SRI International)
Electroadhesion, or electrically controlled electrostatic attraction, is an electrically controlled adhesion technology that induces an electrostatic charge using a power supply connected to pads placed on the robot allowing it to scale walls, even those covered with dust or moisture, SRI says.
"Recent events such as natural disasters, military actions, and public safety threats have led to an increased need for robust robots--especially ones that can move in three dimensions," said SRI mechanical engineer Harsha Prahlad. "The ability to climb walls and other structures offers unique capabilities in military applications, such as urban reconnaissance, sensor deployment, and installation of network nodes in an urban environment."
Electroadhesion lends itself to a variety of wall-climbing robots, including tracked "tank"-style robots, as well as the more biomimetic-inspired, legged and inchworm-type robots, according to the company. The robots are simple, low-cost, easy to clean, and readily conform to different surfaces like bumps, corners, or cracks. And they're quiet, unlike other wall-climbers that use suction technology.
(Credit:
SRI International)
(Credit:
Vortex HC)
Just how desperate is that housewife next door? If those down-looking satellites just don't do it for you any more, here's another way to keep an eye on your neighbor.
The Vortex Regenerative Air Movement Mobile Robot Platform (VRAMMRP) uses a patented "tornado in a cup" sucking technology to stick to walls and ceilings, then uses six wheels to position itself on the window ledge or other strategic location. Remote controlled by joy stick, the unit can send video and audio via secure Bluetooth. This equipment should be included in any self-respecting paparazzi's toolkit.
(Credit:
Atlas Devices)
If only we had one of these in high school gym. This nifty invention by some enterprising MIT students can climb a rope all by itself at the astonishing rate of 10 feet per second--carrying 250 pounds all the while.
The success of the "Rope Ascender" apparently hinges on the concept of strength derived from winding the rope around a cylinder multiple times. The students' efforts, which led to the formulation of a company called Atlas Devices, have reportedly been rewarded already with a U.S. Army contract.
As an example of its very practical uses, Coolest-Gadgets notes that the rope-climbing system can allow a firefighter to scale a 30-story building in 30 seconds instead of 6 minutes. But to truly appreciate that kind of feat, you have to see it in action in the YouTube clip below.
(Credit:
AquaClimb)
The country is experiencing record swings in temperature this winter and $1 billion in failed citrus crops due to freezing temperatures in California.
What a great time to think about pool sports.
The AquaClimb is a rock climbing wall for your pool. And who knows, you may not have to wait until summer to use it if temperatures swing back into the 70s, as they did on January 7 in the northeast.
There is no limit to the weight that the wall--a stainless steel frame with fiberglass panels and nonslip coating--can hold, according to the company. AquaClimb's base screws to the deck of a pool with several safety anchors. You pick and choose the colors you want for your wall and construct it from 3x3-foot squares. Babygadget points out that the hand-holds and footholds are also interchangeable and moveable, so the user can maximize an upper-body workout.
AquaClimb prices start at $10,490 and vary depending on size of the wall.
Wall height will depend on the depth of the water below it, for obvious reasons. No one wants little Johnny diving from 8 feet up into 4 feet of water, I am sure.
- prev
- 1
- next
