Recently
unmanned underwater drone technology seems have taken center stage among DARPA
Programs. For a while, proposals seemed
to focus on UAV’s, unmanned aerial vehicles, but now include new, ambitious,
underwater projects like the Hydra and UFP, which have recently appeared on the horizon.
Hydra UUV for the ocean's shallow waters
On the
other hand, Lockheed’s SSMS may be one of the first in new wave of terrestrial
unmanned logistical and support vehicles.
The SSMS, Squad Mission Support System,
vehicle sports the familiar wheels of most terrestrial vehicles. But wheeled vehicles are of limited utility
in many contexts. I can’t help wondering
when a new class of large terrestrial unmanned vehicles, with legs, will become
the order of the day or, in terms of development proposals, the order to
tomorrow.
If the goal
is high speed, accessibility, and maneuverability, terrestrial robots such as
FastRunner (robo-ostrich) are prototypes intended to exploit to the maximum
many of the advantages of bipedal locomotion.
FastRunner or "Robo-Ostrich"
On the
other hand, (or maybe on many other feet), there is a new generation of many-legged
robots, most notably a group of hexapodal robots. Most of these six-legged robots are designed
more for the purposes of entertainment or amusement than military
application. But the multi-legged robot
has distinct advantages over a two-legged or even four legged counterpart in
terms of stability in motion over extremely difficult terrain.
Looking
back, from a mechanical standpoint, the business of walking was so complex that
it seemed almost impossible to imagine a practical robot design incorporating
motion – on foot – as short a time as 15 years ago. But that changed with Big Dog.
BigDog
In 2002,
Boston Dynamics [2]
began work on a four-legged robot for military use. Funded by the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency), the first prototype of this robotic quadruped was unveiled in
2005. What had first been called, "Robo-Mule," but now renamed "Big Dog," had been
developed by Boston Dynamics with Foster-Miller (a division of Qinetiq North
America), Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station.
Big Dog is
about three feet long, two and a half feet high with a weight of 240
pounds. In terms of size, it is roughly
comparable to its inspiring model, the mule. The DARPA program required a robotic pack
animal, like the army mule, to travel "on foot" with soldiers through terrain too rough for
wheeled vehicles.
The latest
prototype is capable of walking through terrain rough enough to stop a jeep. Big Dog can run at about 4 mph with a 340 pound load and can climb a 35 degree grade. This robot carries a computer that receives feedback from the robot's sensors and
controls its direction, movement, and balance.
Powered by
an “impressive” two-stroke, one-cylinder, 15-HP go-kart engine, Big Dog had a
few bugs. It could be tipped like a
cow. But unlike a cow, it couldn’t get
back up. Also, it was anything but
silent -- making a sound often compared to a swarm of bees. But since
the 2005 unveiling, there has been a lot of work and refinements as well as the
addition of a robotic arm that not only can pick things up, but throw them as
well. With the first unveiling,
Big Dog's capabilties may have seemed modest, but this was the beginning of a new
generation of walking robots inspired by biological organisms: What's called biomimickry.
In the
1950’s, the sci-fi vision of robotic technology was both exotic and
strange. The technology of the future was envisioned and presented as
something completely different and contrary to our natural biological
surroundings. However, when technology confronted reality, we biological
organisms seem to have had the last laugh because we could (and still can) do a
whole lot of extremely useful things that our most sophisticated robotic technology
cannot.
The jeep
took a basic automobile and raised the center of gravity, increased the size
and scale of the automotive suspension system and produced spectacular off-road
performance -- for a machine with wheels. But the wheel, itself, was
limiting. Every Rover we’ve landed on Mars ended its life when it got
stuck. Human beings aren’t the strongest animal in the forest, but if
just two of us were on Mars with those Rovers, we’d have extended their useful
lives by getting them “un-stuck” in short order. Why? Because we
have a repertoire of movements and leverage that we can use to apply force in
almost any direction. The best of those early sci-fi ’bots looked
high-tech but, in fact, were functionally stunted.
When sci-fi
was still dominated by those inhuman and unnatural versions of mechanistic technology,
a new methodology of approach to technological design was, quietly, born.
“Biomimetics” was a term used to describe the development of technology
designed to imitate and replicate the activities of biological systems and
organisms. Then, the term “bionic” was coined to describe a technology
incorporating a “function copied from nature.” When Hollywood got a hold
of the term “bionic,” the “Six Million Dollar Man” hit the small screen.
Maybe Hollywood’s version of the term “bionic” was just too interesting to be
seriously “scientific,” and the term “bionic” fell into scientific oblivion.
The gap was
finally filled with the introduction of the term “biomimicry,” which has been
widely adopted to describe any technology imitating (copied from) nature.
But, in some contexts, biomimicry is more of a necessity than a choice.
If you want robots or drone vehicles that work in a particular way, and the
only known example of such performance is a biological organism, you’ll either
have to imitate the organism or forget the project altogether.
I am still
amazed and entertained by the videos of Big Dog’s performance. The movements are, in some ways, so
“life-like” – so reminiscent of the movements of an animal.
See also: "Alpha Dog" -- "Big Dog" Taken to the Next Level
BigDog (in Winter?)
Thursday 15 May 2014
GCLM5444HOxenia
See also: "Alpha Dog" -- "Big Dog" Taken to the Next Level
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