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
 |
NASA TeTWalker Shape-Shifting Robot Update
TeTWalker, the shape-shifting tetrahedral walker under development by NASA, is back in the news (see the previous story TETWalker: Shape-Shifting Robot Swarm). A next-generation prototype successfully navigated the terrain around Meteor Crater in Arizona.
(TETWalker Prototype)
The simplest version of the device (the one that conquered Meteor Crater) is a single tetrahedron walker. For those who do not recall, a tetrahedron is a geometric solid with four plane triangular faces. The robot really is a shape-shifter; its struts can telescope and retract, thereby pushing the nodes out or pulling them back in. Various combinations of this trick lead to a unique way of walking. One of the project designers, Professor Pamela Clark, refers to it as a "drunken sailor walk" because it is so irregular.
The advantage of this sort of walk is that it can be the ideal way for a robot to negotiate highly irregular terrain, like the surface of Mars. A 12 tetrahedron version is currently under development; as the number of tetrahedrons increases, the motion of the robot really starts to flow nicely in an amoeba-like fashion - see the very cool video below). It can even scale chimney-like structures like a human climber.
(NASA 12 Tetrahedron TeTWalker video)
Read more at the Autonomous NanoTechnology Swarm website and at Technology Review.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/24/2006)
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 ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Robot Clerks Become A Reality In China
'The robot clerk in the waiting-room checked her number...' - Miriam Allen deFord, 1952.
Atlas Robot Makes Uncomfortable Movements
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.' - James Cameron, 1991.
Humanoid Robots Tickle The Ivories
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...' - Herbert Goldstone, 1953.
Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...' - Frederik Poh, 1954.
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
The New Habitable Zones Include Asimov's Ribbon Worlds
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
3D Printing A 12-Meter Boat Hull
'It makes drawings in the air...'
China Still Working On Rescue Robot That Eats People
Firefighter Rescue Robot Eats Humans - again!
Lawyer AIs Create Chaos In Our Legal System
'I want my lawyer program.'
Chinese Hospital Tries Vonnegut's 'Harrison Bergeron' Cosplay
'He wore spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half
blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.'
Robot Clerks Become A Reality In China
'The robot clerk in the waiting-room checked her number...'
Can One Robot Do Many Tasks?
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
Atlas Robot Makes Uncomfortable Movements
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
Boring Company Drills Asimov's Single Vehicle Tunnels
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
Humanoid Robots Tickle The Ivories
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
A Remarkable Coincidence
'There is a philosophical problem of some difficulty here...'
Cortex 1 - Today A Warehouse, Tomorrow A Calculator Planet
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
Perching Ambush Drones
'On the chest of drawers something was perched.'
Leader-Follower Autonomous Vehicle Technology
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
Boring Company Vegas Loop Like Asimov Said
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
