Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Snake Robot Roundup: Part Two
(Continued from Snake Robot Roundup)
Polybot-Based Snakebot Locomotion Study
These snake robots were made to study different forms of serpentine locomotion. The intent of the study was to try to enable snake robots to manuever through 3D terrains by adapting the natural gaits of snakes.
(From Modular Serpentine Robot Locomotion)
Take a look at some of the interesting videos at Modular Serpentine Robot Locomotion site.
OmniTread: snakebot with treads
The OmniTread snakebot is currently under development at the University of Michgan; this segmented 26-pound robot uses tank-like treads that cover about 80 percent of its body.
(From OmniTread Snake Robot)
This robot is controlled directly with a joystick control attached to an umbilical cord (which also provides electrical power). An autonomous version is now under development.
The robot turns using bellows in the joints that connect the segments. Inflating or deflating the bellows joints provides enough torque to lift the front two segments to climb objects up to 18 inches in height.
Read more about it at OmniTread Snake Robot.
Finally, science fiction fans may recall the digger worm from the Berserker's Base stories created for Fred Saberhagen's Beserker world novels. Snake-like mining robots are used to dig through the soft coal deposits of an alien world, looking for rare diamonds:
"I think this is the worm." He knelt down and began clearing the chunks of yellow coal away. Under it was the smooth gray of the worm's grinding head..."Where are the exploders?" she said.
"Inside the mouth. We won't be able to get at them, but the controls should be right here, at the back of its head." He swept away more rubble to reveal a beveled rectangle and flipped up the control plate. "When a worm's digging a new trail, it spits out an exploder, backs up to a safe distance, and detonates it..."
The worm gave a low growl and shudder and reared its gray metal head clear of the coal rubble...
(Thanks to Tim Morrison for suggesting the digger worms - I knew there had to be a snakebot somewhere in sf!)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/22/2005)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Blue Collar AI Goes To Work To Mine Its Own Crypto
Blue collar bot.
HandelBot Helps Two-Handed Robots Learn Piano
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'
Woven Fiber Electronic Skin For Robots
'... all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.' - Harl Vincent, 1934.
Robots For Hire En Masse
'...small investors profited, too.' - Raymond E. Banks, 1956.
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.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Amazing Photonic Crystal Light Sail
'That sail will be twenty thousand miles at the wide part.'
Blue Collar AI Goes To Work To Mine Its Own Crypto
Blue collar bot.
Rogue AI Replicated Itself
'Sapiro’s computer just kept dialing at random, hanging up on humans, until it got a fellow computer of the same type as itself.'
HandelBot Helps Two-Handed Robots Learn Piano
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'
Woven Fiber Electronic Skin For Robots
'... all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
When AI Takes Its First Breath
Any suggestions?
Chinese Aircar Light And Airy, Not For Blade Runners
Daytime version.
The Morphing Wheel And The Smartwheel
'If you surf over a bump, the spokes contract to roll over it.'
Transporting Antimatter
'...drawing plans for the magnetic tongs and bed plates and relays.'
Polish Turns Your Nail Into A Stylus
'He wrote on it, using the pointed fingernail of his right forefinger...'
I Wish This Plaudit Pin Was More Like A Wristpad
'Frank was cursing into his wristpad, switching between Arabic and English.'
World's Largest Teleoperated Arm
'...a pair so huge that Stevens could not conceive a use for it..'
Japan's AI Buddharoid Automonks
'...each of them is a neural mapping of the mind of a Tibetan monk who actually lived.'
MIT Computerized Bionic Leg Is Part Of The User
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain, through the mediation of the electronic brain in the leg.'
The New Habitable Zones Include Asimov's Ribbon Worlds
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
California Governor Candidate Calls For Voting By Phone
'... every veephone on the continent would display, over and over, two propositions.'
