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
 |
Disney Hopping Robot, From Disney Research
A team of robotics researchers at Disney Research Pittsburgh have created an amazing bouncing, hopping robot! Who even knew that Disney sponsored robot research, in Pittsburgh no less.
(Disney hopping robot video)
The basic structure of the robot and the aptly named Linear Elastic Actuator in Parallel or LEAP mechanism it employs to hop around is outlined in the video below. The Disney engineers kept their robot as similar as possible to Raibert’s original design in order to be able to use his algorithm to control the bouncing bot’s balance. This eliminated the need to write brand new code for purposes of this experiment. The body of the robot sits on an actuated gimbal mechanism that employs two servomotors to handle movement in four directions. The body houses power, computing and sensing components, including the batteries, inertial sensors and a microcomputer. The leg mechanism pairs two compression springs with a voice-coil actuator like those used in audio speakers. These types of actuators are frequently used in applications that require generating thrust. The two springs support most of the robot’s weight while the voice coil provides thrust for upward motion – this forms a Linear Elastic Actuator in Parallel or LEAP mechanism which enables the robot to hop.
You must be saying to yourself "Hopping robots? Never seen them in science fiction!" But, I'm thinking of the 1994 novel Heavy Weather; Bruce Sterling wrote about a device called a "dope mule robot:"
It was crossing the hills with vast, unerring, twenty-meter leaps. A squat metal sphere, painted in ragged patches of dun and olive drab. It had a single thick, pistoning metal leg...
Here are some jumping leaping robot links. Hop to it!
- Jollbot Robot Ball Jumps, Bounces And Rolls
Jollbot presents a unique solution to the problem of navigating rough terrain here on Earth - and on other planets. With video. - Prototype Jockey-Ridden Hopping Robot
Expensive and uncooperative animals to be phased out in favor of hopping robots. With video. - Hopping Robot Sets Record
Watch the "grasshopper robot" do its stuff in the video.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/8/2016)
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 ")
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'' - Isaac Asimov (1940)
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...' - Elizabeth Bellamy, 1899.
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the 'long, flexible, glittering tentacles...' - HG Wells, 1898
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
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship
'There was no wheel, and no steersman!'
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...'
DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available
'They tied the memory to the bloodline and that was their record!'
AI Computer Chip Designs Passeth Human Understanding
'It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings.'
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needed Now
'...the spot was a lonely one in an uncharted region, far from the normal lanes of space traffic.'
Fine-Tune Your Infinite Book The Way You Want It
'I squatted down beside the roller and tried to make some sense out of the knobs. There were thirty-nine of them...'
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the long, flexible, glittering tentacles...'
Holland Factory 3D Printing 500 Tons Of Steak Per Month
'...I don’t understand technical things — tell me, does it ever feel anything?"
Stratospheric Solar Geoengineering From Harvard
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
