 |
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
|
 |
Robonaut Centaur At NextFest 2006
NASA's Robonaut Centaur brings a new feature to its Robonaut telepresence robot - mobility. The new configuration is now being demonstrated at the NextFest technology exhibition (October 29-30 at the Javits Center, NYC).

(Robonaut Centaur at NextFest 2006)
Robonaut already had great dexterity in a human form (see Robonaut Performs Hubble Space Telescope Repair Tasks. It has more than 150 sensors per arm, including thermal, positional, tactile, force and torque instrumentation. In developing Robonaut with DARPA, NASA seeks to develop a robotic system that can function as an EVA (extravehicular activity) astronaut equivalent. Robonaut's human size and limb articulation make telepresence control intuitively easy.
The Robonaut Centaur configuration adds mobility for lunar roving tasks. The controller of the telepresence robot uses foot pedals to control the movement of the wheels.

(Robonaut Centaur and driver)
The controller wears a special mask to allow him to share Robonaut's point of view. As he moves his feet, Robonaut Centaur's wheels move the robot forward to an object. As he moves his arms, Robonaut moves its arms. As the controller moves his fingers to grasp the object he sees in his viewer, Robonaut flexes its fingers to grasp the object.
The insight that allows a complex robot like Robonaut to be controlled by natural human movement was achieved by science fiction writer Robert Heinlein. In his 1942 short story Waldo he described a way that a remote gripping arm could be controlled by an operator:
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 Waldo)
Look at more NextFest 2006 Devices, Stories and Pictures. Check out the Robonaut home page.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/29/2006)
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 ( 2 )
Related News Stories -
("
Robotics
")
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...' - Philip K. Dick, 1955.
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Humanoid Robots Spotted In Homes Performing Household Chores
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.' Arthur Bird, 1899.
Bambot Open Source Cheap Delivery Robot
'Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot...'
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
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
Heart Patches Grown In The Lab Repair Hearts
I'm hoping that this procedure becomes a normal part of medical practice!
Humanoid Robots Spotted In Homes Performing Household Chores
'... nothing was perfected until M. Pantalon announced the completion of his automatic valet.'
Musk Proposes Sites For Martian Cities
'...its streets were of remarkable width, with few or no buildings so high as mosques, churches, State-offices, or palaces in Tellurian cities.'
Bambot Open Source Cheap Delivery Robot
'Not since the time he rewired the delivery robot...'
Robot Collective Acts Like A Smart Material
'...it was all composed of tiny, identical cubes, carefully laid to form a tilelike surface.'
Vipera Electric Skis From Frigid Dynamics
'JOAN strapped on her power-skis...'
Pixel Watch 'Loss of Pulse Detection' And Philip K. Dick
'He carried on his person a triggering mechanism sensitive to his heartbeat.'
Nuclear Plant Restarted To Power AI To Feed Us Dreams
'...Anything was possible in my imaginary environment.'
SpaceX's Starman Tesla Roadster In Space
'Somewhere in space, a chrome and blue automobile raced the green light of Earth.'
Pivotal Blackfly Electric Aircraft Lifts And Hovers
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair...'
More SF in the News Stories
More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories
|
 |