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NOROS-1 Chinese Italian Lunar Robot
NOROS-1 (NOvel RObot for Space exploration) is a robot under development by the University of Aeronautics and Austronautics of Beijing, and the Laboratory of Robotics of the Department of Mechanics of the Milan Polytechnic. The prototype system is unusual; it will consist of a host robot and four assistant bots.
(NOROS-1 robot prototype)
The prototype for the NOROS-1 robot has a semispherical shape with legs for movement; the legs have wheels at the extremities. The robots will be able to autonomously select the type of motion best suited to terrain, using their intelligent television cameras and sensors. The robots are approximately 80 centimeters in width and 40 centimeters in height; they mass about 40 kilograms.
One of the robots will have greater capability; this host robot will execute more complex operations. The four other robots will be "field assistants."
(NOROS-1 robot wider view)
The development work is being shared by the two national teams. According to Ding Xilun, a Chinese professor heading the Space Robots Laboratory at Beijing University, the prototype robots are currently under control testing. Final testing will take place in 2008 in Beijing.
"Once the products are put to use, there will be an automatic robotic system on the Moon to manage and improve satellite communication. They can also be used to explore the environment of the Moon and collect soil samples on the Moon," Ding stated.
(From Prototype robotics system for moon exploration)
Read more at these (Google translated) Italian sites: ICTblog.it and ingegneri.info.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/28/2006)
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