Raytheon-Sarcos engineers have obviously been enjoying themselves lately. Take a look at this modified Ditch Witch that now serves as an elaborate Synchronous Reduplicating Pantograph.
(Raytheon Sarcos Exoskeletonized Ditch Witch)
As Vice President of Operations Fraser Smith describes, "every way you move, your three degrees of freedom in your wrist, the one in your elbow and the three in your shoulder --the slave arms can move the same way you do."
The robot translates movements with what is called "force reflection." In the hands of the machine is incredible strength and agility, depending on what is needed to fulfill the task at hand.
"Anything that slave encounters in terms of force is also fed back to the operator so he can actually feel what's happening in the workspace," Fraser Smith, Vice President of Operations at Raytheon, told KSL Utah. "With added strength, the operator doesn't need two or three guys trying to muscle something around. This thing just picks it up and dexterously positions the material."
Robert Heinlein was the first person to describe the idea of teleoperated robotic devices in his 1942 story Waldo.
Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair before the machine, came to life. Waldo flexed and extended his fingers gently; the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism.
(Read more about Heinlein's waldo)
Fans of Robot Jox, a 1990 movie, may find this idea familiar. Watch in amazement as enormous stop-action animated robots duke it out for giant robot supremacy!
RoboShiko! Sumo Exercises Still Good For Robots
'... the expressionless face before me was therefore that of the golem-wrestler, Rolem, a creature that could be set for five times the strength of a human being.' - Roger Zelazny, 1966.
Giant Robotic Hands At Gundam Next Future Science
'Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair mounted before the machine, came to life.' - Robert Heinlein, 1942.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
RoboShiko! Sumo Exercises Still Good For Robots
'... the expressionless face before me was therefore that of the golem-wrestler, Rolem, a creature that could be set for five times the strength of a human being.'