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
 |
Vecna BEAR Rescue Robot Prototype Ready
A prototype version of the Vecna BEAR (Battlefield Extraction-Assist Robot) is now undergoing testing. This remarkable robot is about the size and shape of an adult man. The Vecna BEAR should be able to rescue injured people in dangerous areas and then bring them back to safety.
(Vecna BEAR robot carries a man)
The proof-of-concept version shown above is able to maneuver easily in a variety of environments. On level ground or pavement, the Vecna BEAR can move quickly on wheels in an upright position (see Vecna BEAR rears up). In what the developers call the "centaur" posture, the robot glides along on the caterpillar treads on its "belly."
The BEAR requires control that is better than that commonly seen on backhoes or tractors, both machines with hydraulic systems to provide the muscle.
The BEAR's objectives require fine-tuned control, and a more gentle touch, such as that found in proportional control systems like PWM control over standard motor actuation systems. For this challenge, Vecna engineers are designing a control system that will permit very finely resolved proportional movement. New specialized micro hydraulic valves and related systems are being invented by this team of young engineers, and are expected to be patented.
The Vecna BEAR's humanoid form allows it to be used in urban environments; the BEAR can climb stairs, pass through doorways, all with an adult-sized dummy "casualty" in its arms.
Science fiction fans may recall the Japanese manga film Roujin Z, introduced in 1996. In the film, the Ministry of Health orders Takazawa Kijuro, an elderly bed-ridden man seemingly without family, to test a new robot - the Roujin Z-0001. A self-contained atomic power reactor gives this unique part bed/part machine robot all the energy it needs. Roujin Z can also climb stairs and carry the sick.
(Roujin-Z hospital bed/robot in profile, carrying patient)
See the previous coverage of this robot at Vecna BEAR Battlefield Extraction Robot. For another "centaur-style" robot, take a look at NASA's Robonaut Centaur, which I saw demonstrated at NextFest 2006 last fall in NYC.
Read the excellent story at BotMag.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/17/2007)
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 ")
Tactile Skin Supplier Map
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!' - Ray Cummings, 1931.
Robot Bees 3D Printed By Festo
'At first I was struck by the large size of these bees..' - Ernst Junger, 1957.
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.' - Neal Asher, 2008.
How To Settle An Argument Between Two Robots
'Henry... assumed the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits.' - Frederik Pohl, 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
Birds Learn To Sing Pictures ala Frank Herbert's Distrans
'We will fight in the time of fighting.'
ElectionSim: China's 'Ender's Game' Battle Sim, Or Lem's 'Kingdom In A Box'?
'So, Ender, we will now begin your education.'
Tactile Skin Supplier Map
'What strange sensitivity! What an amazing development of science was manifested in every move and act and word of this Robot!'
Flock Stymied By 'Adversarial Fashion'
'Forget the head atop it, the legs below, feet, arms, hands. It compels erasure.'
Orb Nomad Zero-Emission Electric Aircraft
'That explains how it was so easy for me to remain motionless in midair or to perch on a flagpole in imitation of a giant bird, even in the windy city of Chicago.'
ICE Buys Shock Gloves Like Batman's
What else is the Caped Crusader using?
Factories In The Sky Will Surpass Those Of Earth
'The thirty-odd miles of The Factory’s circumference...'
Sleeper Drones Lie in Wait
'Wandering mines, you took them out on the edge of the desert, set them down and activated them.'
Warfare Goes Underground In Ukraine
'Once in the very first weeks of the war, before everyone had been evacuated from the surface...'
3D Printed Organs From Space
'For a while your colonists will have to come up to the [orbital] Hospital...'
Robot Bees 3D Printed By Festo
'At first I was struck by the large size of these bees..'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'
How To Settle An Argument Between Two Robots
'Henry... assumed the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits.'
The Wind Phone Calls Those Who Have Passed On
'Only I heard that!'
Don't Want To Wear A TIght Shiny Bodysuit?
'He looked a good bit like an elderly, fat beetle.'
Light Society: Simulates Earth-Scale Society With A Billion AI Agents
'The king, an old hand in the running of tyrannies, instantly grasped the directions...'
