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Comments on Precision Urban Hopper Robot Must 'Stick' Landings
This robot has a piston actuated foot that lets it jump up to 25 feet in the air. And, yes, it was predicted by science fiction writers. (Read
the complete story)
| "In LUCKY STAR AND THE OCEANS OF VENUS by Asimov (aka "Paul French"), there is a sort of hopper machine that was used in sport racing." (Winchell Chung 4/22/2009 6:55:15 AM) |
| "Like this:
(Prototype Jockey-Ridden Hopping Robot) " |
| "It was the old cry of the hopper races. Five years ago it had been a fad that had swept the solar system: races over broken, barrier-strewn courses.
Lucky checked the micropile. It was active. He started the motor arid set the gyroscope spinning. The hopper straightened immediately and stood stiffly upright on its single leg.
Hoppers are probably the most grotesque forms of transportation ever invented. They consist of a curved body, just large enough to hold a man at the controls. There was a four-bladed rotor above and a single metal leg, rubber-tipped, below. It looked like some giant wading bird gone to sleep with one leg folded under its body.
Lucky touched the leap knob and the hopper's leg retracted. Its body sank till it was scarcely seven feet from the ground while the leg moved up into the hollow tube that pierced the hopper just behind the control panel. The leg was released at the moment of maximum retraction with a loud click, and the hopper sprang thirty feet into the air.
The rotating blades above the hopper kept it hovering for long seconds at the top of its jump. For those seconds, Lucky could get a view of the people now immediately below him. The crowd extended outward for half a mile, and that meant several hops. Lucky's lips tightened. Precious minutes would vanish.
The hopper was coming down now, its long leg extended. The crowd beneath the descending hopper tried to scatter, but they didn't have to. Four jets of compressed air blew men aside just sufficiently, and the leg hurtled down harmlessly to the ground." (Winchell Chung 4/23/2009 7:24:45 AM) |
| "Thanks, Winchell. I've added an entry for the hopper." (Bill Christensen 4/23/2009 7:19:20 PM) |
| "Wheeled vehicle that can hop over obstacles with a big piston ... um, that would be the Mach 5 from 'Speed Racer,' wouldn't it?" (oh speed! 4/26/2009 3:40:38 AM) |
| "Speed Racer's Mach 5 had 'auto jacks' to raise the car up quickly for repairs. However, in practice, these were mostly used to make short jumps over obstacles. Good one; I'm not even sure I remember that from watching cartoons back in the day." (Bill Christensen 4/26/2009 9:44:18 AM) |
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