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"I was perfectly satisfied to write science fiction knowing that it would pay very little, that it would be seen by only a very few people."
- Isaac Asimov
 |
| Sensor Arm | ||
| An extendable multipurpose sensor cluster. |
Very handy for short, barrel-shaped robots who lack opposable thumbs.
| ...Artoo finished removing a socket cover and hurriedly shoved his sensor arm into the opening. Lights commenced a wild flashing on his face and smoke started issuing from several seams in the small 'droid before a frantic Threepio could pull the arm free. Artoo emitted a few wilted beeps, successfully giving the impression of a human who had expected a glass of mild wine and instead unwittingly downed several gulps of something 180 proof. "Well, next time watch where you stick your sensors," Threepio chastised his companion. "You could have fried your insides... That's a power outlet, stupid, not an information terminal." Together they hunted for the proper outlet. |
| Technovelgy from Star Wars,
by George Lucas. Published by Del Rey in 1976 Additional resources -
|
The new Beagle 2, the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express mission probe, makes use of a similar design, using a single extendable arm with a cluster of sensors:
The arm was originally going to move instruments and tools to-and-from the lander and the surface but after strengthening it, the equipment became an integral part of the arm and the need to make a connection every time something was picked up or put back was avoided.
The robotic arm holds all of Beagle 2's scientific instruments in a cluster at the end (Beagle 2's PAW). The arm supports the panoramic cameras and also deploys the mole.
(from space-technology.com)
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| Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along |
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| Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves |
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'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
'It's so light that you can set it up in five minutes by yourself...'
'Heavy penalties... were to be applied to any one found driving manually-controlled machines.'
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
'It is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature...'
