No IMPASS for "whegs" powered robot
All those bipedal robots are so done. "Whegs" are the new leg, don't you know? Along the lines of the Robotic Mule we saw last month, the IMPASS (Intelligent Mobility Platform with Active Spoke System) uses the speed and stability afforded by wheels, along with the rough terrain abilities that legs can offer. The "whegs" are rimless wheels with three spokes, each of which passes through the axle and is adjusted by the computer on the fly for feeling along uneven terrain, or rolling at top speed. These "whegs" (we just love the sound of that word) won't be suited to all robots — it would be rather hard, for instance, to run in fear of a race of machines powered by such a cute sounding apparatus — but they could surely lend a hand in improving the next generation of search and rescue bots, so good for them.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kim Laughton @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM
They never seem to have any kind of use for this sort of thing - it's always "uh, search and rescue, disasters, stuff".
Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM
and whats wrong with that?
Joshua @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM
I for one will welcome our new wheg-abled overlords and look forward to their long and prosperous rule.
Rusty Shackleford @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM
I would not want one of these wheg devices operating on my newly sanded and refinished hardwood floors. Those spikey spoke things will leave deep pock-marks in the fine Norwegian Wood planking.
Mark my words, the Government will command millions of these whegbots with infrared laser rifles and then they won't look so cute anymore. They won't look like anything at all because you'll be blind and thus unable to resist further.
John @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM
YES! So close to the world of Snowcrash (ie, Hiro Protagonists motorcycle wheels)! First there was the pizza truck that made pizza as it was delivered, now this.
WOV @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM
Did you throw in the search and rescue part just to provoke me?
I think a great innovation in the field of search and rescue robots would be a search and rescue robot that anyone had ever actually sold or used ever. They should work on that. That would be good.
angered @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM
they took my idea, Ive so already thought of this!!
oh well
penny wise @ Dec 19th 2005 2:31AM
No, no, no #5! It was skateboard wheels, and it wasn't a pizza truck, nor did it make pizza in the car. Go back and re-read. Shame.