RoboSimian
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Lithium battery failure wipes out DARPA robot at NASA
It's not just Samsung that has problems with combusting batteries, as NASA's office of Safety and Mission Assurance has just revealed. The body has announced that NASA centers have seen at least four major explosions and a number of close calls over the last decade. The latest crisis was a fire at the Jet Propulsion Lab that wiped out one of DARPA's RoboSimian droids before a test.
The bots that bucked the humanoid trend at DARPA's challenge
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-897542{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-897542, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-897542{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-897542").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Humanoids are supposed to be best suited for a world that's engineered for humans. They can climb stairs, open doors and drive cars. At DARPA Robotics Challenge, most of the participating humanoids succeeded in completing those tasks, but when it came to walking, they were clumsier than the species they were designed to emulate. Getting a machine to put one foot in front of the other has been a priority for roboticists for decades. Bipedal locomotion would presumably make it easier for robots to navigate a man-made world and perhaps make them more relatable. But the movement requires sophisticated control software and advanced AI technology that isn't quite ready yet.
Watch RoboSimian prepare for DARPA's Robotics Challenge finals
I've got to be honest: the moment I saw the robot above straighten its torso like some sort of a human-arachnid hybrid, I felt a tinge of fear. Good thing NASA JPL designed it to help humans in times of need, eh? This is RoboSimian, one of the few non-biped finalists for DARPA's Robotics Challenge. It was created to become a first responder in times of natural or man-made disasters, finding survivors and going to places humans can't visit. In the videos below the fold, you can watch its creators from NASA JPL explain the technologies they incorporated into the simian/crab-inspired machine. You can also watch Team RoboSimian prepare for DARPA's Robotics Challenge finals this Friday and Saturday, where the robot will scuttle (or drive, because yes, it can drive) around in a simulated disaster area. We'll be at the finals this weekend and might get the chance to talk to the team, so make sure to check back for more on this crazy-looking machine.
Surge the rescue robot is RoboSimian's more evolved sibling
It looks like the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory team responsible for RoboSimian's existence has been busy this year, creating its possible substitute for the DARPA Robotics Challenge finale. The result? A robot that stands upright at 4.5 feet and weighs in at 200 pounds called Surrogate, or Surge for short. It's more human-like than its predecessor, with its two arms, a head and a spine, which allows it to manipulate objects better. It also has Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) equipment on its head, which gives it the capability to create 3D maps of various locations using laser beams. Problem is, it can't climb rough or tall terrain, because it uses caterpillar tracks. Plus, its body only has room for one set of cameras.
Google-powered machines lead DARPA's Robotics Challenge (video)
And you thought the Big Dog was scary? Okay, Boston Dynamics' quadrupedal, un-tip-overable 'bot still takes the cake, but SCHAFT (pictured above) deserves its own condo in the uncanny valley. And to think, they'll both be eating together at a cafeteria in Mountain View soon. That 'bot won DARPA's rescue-oriented competition this weekend by successfully navigating tricky terrain and clearing debris. Two other teams, IHMC Robotics and MIT, earned respective second and fourth places with variants on Boston Dynamics' Atlas machine. Other top-ranking entries included third-place Tartan Rescue as well as RoboSimian, Traclabs, WRECS and Trooper. The high scores are useful for more than just bragging rights. These top eight teams will receive DARPA funding as they move on to the Robotics Challenge finals in late 2014; they'll have a big (metal) leg up versus rivals that will have to pay to play. Congratulations to all, but if you don't mind, we'll be keeping our distance from Google headquarters until we know exactly what Andy Rubin plans to do with his new army of metal men and beasts.
JPL's RoboSimian flexes its robot muscles, haunts your nightmares (video)
Not content on landing several rovers on the surface of Mars, NASA's JPL team's been working on more earthly projects. RoboSimian is an ape-like robot designed for search-and-rescue missions that's expected to compete in the DARPA Robotics Challenge. It features four multi-jointed limbs with unique hands and no defined front or back -- allowing it to always face the right way. Thanks to its primate-like movement and posture, the robot will be able to navigate over difficult terrain, climb ladders and even drive vehicles (one of the DRC's requirements). While the project itself isn't new, JPL recently published an interesting video that shows RoboSimian gripping tools, lifting its own weight and balancing delicate objects. This means, of course, that robot monkeys will soon join spiders, cats and dogs in your dystopian nightmares. Video after the break.
