Robotics – part 2 (BigDog)

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Well well, its seems that you puny humans have finally managed to make a nice toy, my grandmother can make this in her sleep (whap!!!!! nerdy alien receives a whack on his bald grey head from his boss). ....Ummm, I mean, ahhhh....the glorious humans have mastered the art of making advanced robots.

            Today I shall talk about an advanced four legged military robot called BigDog created by humans (Us aliens like this name….why didn’t we think of it….. we were probably busy scheming against you). It’s created by Boston Dynamic's primarily for operating over rough terrain and carrying a heavy load at the same time. The project is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), they wish to use BigDog as a equipment carrier for soldiers that can work over rough terrain where even wheels won’t work. The BigDog project incorporates one of the most advanced sensor technologies in the world of robotics which enable it to navigate over rough terrain.

You could say that BigDog looks like the animal version of the big bad robot from the movie “terminator”. But don’t worry, BogDog won’t turn on you……..yet :D…... that was a joke, don’t report me to my boss or he will do some weapons testing on me and also my bald head is still sore from all those whacks.    

  

Well, apart from jokes here are some facts about BigDog, he stands 2.5 feet tall and is 3 feet long and weighs about 113 Kilograms. He can run at about 6.43 kmph (that’s right he can RUN on those four legs) and climb 35 degree slopes.  He can even walk in water and not be affected by it.

 He can also walk across a muddy trail and through snow. And especially what will be very helpful to soldiers is that he can walk across rubble (very helpful in your puny human war wastelands). He can do all this while carrying a load of 158.6 Kilogram.

BigDog has also set the world record for distance travelled by a legged vehicle at 20.5 kilometers. He is powered by a 15bhp two-stroke water cooled engine.

BigDog can balance himself with heavy load strapped to him, he will even balance himself properly if pushed. He can navigate through terrain which is impossible for wheeled robots to reach. He can be a game changing factor in a combat situation. Considering his abilities he can also be put to use for other purpose like aiding disaster relief operations, etc.

Considering all that we have read above we can arrive at a fact that BigDog has a very heavy configuration that enables it to perform such feats.

BigDog is loaded with some of the most advanced sensors which help him navigate balance and make judgements; some of these are sensors for joint position, joint force, ground contact, gyroscope (helps in maintaining balance), etc. He also has stereo vision.

BigDog can be easily controlled remotely by a person wearing his control vest. The controller can command BigDog to start or stop its engine, stand up, squat down, walk, trot, or jog. He gets the operational information through the visual display. While the operator only gives commands to to go from point A to point B it is upto BigDog to control everything including else navigating the terrain by his own reflexes. (I can control BigDog with my huge nerdy brain :D…….ok I lied , I can’t……..yet )

            From all that we have seen here I can easily say that robots will play a big role in the human civilization. Boston Dynamics has broken a new arrier in robotics with the creation of Big Dog……..I want one on my birthday now.

We might even stop abducting humans if all of you become intelligent as BigDog’s creators (whap!!!!....Nerdy alien receives another whack from his boss)….sorry, boss says abduction is a secret and that I am not suppose to tell you that we do it every alternate day… (whap…. Whap....whap!!!!! Nerdy alien receives more whacking from his boss)….


Picture Courtesy : http://www.bostondynamics.com/

Robotics – part 1 (A.S.I.M.O)

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Image courtesy: mechanica.in

Ever felt that the mechano set you had in your childhood was not fulfilling or did u want more out of your toy than the usual repeated voice recording? Ever felt that you could make your toys alive? Well you don’t have to look to your dreams to satisfy you anymore all thanks to technology which has made toys more than lifeless.

            Welcome to the fantastical world of robotics. We shall be looking at a few robots, some commercial and some famous for a breakthrough in their technology in the next few posts that will come out in parts.

Honda ASIMO

Unveiled by Honda in the year 2000, ASIMO stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility.  It is a bipedal humanoid robot which stands 4 feet and 3 inches tall and weighs 54 kilos. It looks like a tiny astronaut wearing a bag.

ASIMO can perform complex functions due to the design of its highly mobile body. It can even run at 6 kmph. ASIMO’s height of 4 feet and 3 inches was selected specifically to operate optimally within a human environment.

Apart from the usual stuff like walking or running or waving hands that you might expect out of ASIMO, he (lets treat him like a person because he is almost like one) can do a lot more things.

ASIMO can recognise different people’s faces and greet them with their names. He can also pass on messages from one person to another when he finds them. He can shake hands with people and if you wave to him, he will wave back.

He can avoid humans and other obstacles while walking or running by going around them.

ASIMO will look at your face while talking you, he can even follow you around.

ASIMO can handle trays very well. He can sense a person’s hands and the tray and receive it from them and carry the tray without dropping it or spilling the contents of the tray by sensing if they are about to fall. He can put the slowly and gently on the table by sensing the weight reduction in his hands as he puts the tray on the table.

ASIMO can also carry heavy loads up to 10kgs, now don’t start boasting about how much weight you can lift, remember for a humanoid robot this is a huge achievement. He can even steer a cart by calculating the force he applies to the cart and can also steer around obstacles by taking actions such as slowing down or changing directions.

            Rumours are that some multinational corporation has even hired ASIMO from Honda to greet their high profile guests at their headquarters. Now come on, I want ASIMO too, Are you listening Honda?

            Now I bet you cannot wait for the day when ASIMO will be available in your electronic store because I surely cannot.

In the next few blogs we will see all the other robots in development or that are available in the market.

From the way robotics development is progressing we can only wait and see what surprises robotics has for the human civilisation.

ASIMO Images Courtesy: http://world.honda.com/ASIMO/