ROBOTS: Flying Robots – Part 1 – The Original: Nano Hummingbird

12 December 2013

 Part 1 – The Original Bird-Bot: Robo-Hummer 

On 17 February 2011, DARPA announced the development of the first fully functional robotic bird.  The “Nano Hummingbird” or, as it is also less imaginatively called, the “Nano Air Vehicle”  (“NAV”), was the successful result of a project started in 2006 by AeroVironment, Inc. under the direction of DARPA.  Robots, by definition, must “do work.”  And the Nano-Hummer was the first fully functional bird-drone designed and able to perform surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

This robotic hummingbird can remain aloft for 11 minutes and attain a speed of 11 mph.   With a skeleton of hollow carbon-fiber rods wrapped in fiber mesh, coated in a polyvinyl fluoride film, [1] and carrying “batteries, motors, and communications systems; as well as the video camera payload,” the robo-hummer weighs just .67 ounces.

Designed to be deployed in urban environments or on battlefields, this drone is can “perch on windowsills or power lines” and even “enter buildings to observe its surroundings” while relaying a continuous video back to its “pilot.”

Robo-Hummer Flies and Enters Building

(with surveillance feed video inset)



In terms of appearance, the Nano-Hummer was, and is, quite like an actual hummingbird.  Although larger than the typical hummingbird, Nano-Hummer, is well within the size range of the species and is, actually, smaller than the largest of real hummingbirds.  With a facade both shaped and colored to resemble the real bird, the Nano-Hummer presents the viewer with a remarkable likeness of a hummingbird.

The Nano-Hummer isn’t stealth in the sense of evading radar.  Nor is it “cryptic,” that type of camouflage that blends, or disappears, into the surrounding terrain.  Rather, with the appearance of a hummingbird, the designers used a type of camouflage called “mimesis,” also termed “masquerade,” as concealment.  A camouflaged object is said to be “masqueraded” when the object “can be clearly seen, but looks like something else, which is of no special interest to the observer.”  And such camouflage is important to a mini-drone with the primary purpose of surveillance and reconnaissance.

Designing this drone on the “hummingbird model,” however, was not done only for the purpose of camouflage.  The project’s objective included biomimicry, that is, biologically inspired engineering. [2] With the hummingbird, its amazingly diverse flight maneuvers were the object of imitation.  However, UAV’s head researcher, Matt Keennon, admits that a perfect replica of what “nature has done” was too daunting. [3] For example, the Nano-Hummer only beats its wings 20 times a second, which is slow motion compared to the real hummingbird’s 80 beats per second. [4]

Whatever the technical shortfalls, this bird-bot replicates much of the real hummingbird’s flight performance. [5] Not only can it do rolls and back-flips . . .

Back-Flips

. . . but, most important of all, it can hover like the real thing. [6]

[Click the following link to see "hover": video]

Hovering allows the video camera to select and observe stationary targets. 

However, this robot’s ability to hover was not developed just for the purpose of reconnaissance and surveillance.   The “hover” of both hummingbirds and bees attracts so much attention from developers of drone technology because it assures success in the most difficult flight maneuver of all — landing.  In fact, landing is the most complex part of flight, and the maneuver most likely to result in accident or disaster.

When landing, a flying object must attain the slowest speed possible before touching down.  Hovering resolves the problem neatly by assuring that the robot can stop in midair and, therefore, touch the ground or perch as zero speed.  Observe the relatively compact helicopter landing port in contrast to the long landing strip required by an airplane which must maintain forward motion when airborne.

This drone has a remarkable range of movement in flight much like the real hummingbird.   Nano-Hummer “can climb and descend vertically; fly sideways left and right; forward and backward; rotate clockwise and counter-clockwise; and hover in mid-air.”  Both propulsion and altitude control are entirely provided by the drone’s flapping wings.

Robo-Hummer Performs Maneuvers

This remote controlled mini-drone can be maneuvered by the “pilot” without direct visual observation using the video stream alone.  With its small camera, this drone can relay back video images of its location.  The camera angle is defined by the drone’s pitch.  In forward motion, the camera provides a continuous view of the ground.  Hovering provides the best camera angle for surveying rooms. [7]

Video Feed / Camera Angles -- Hover and Forward Motion

To DARPA, it was particularly important that this drone demonstrate the ability to hover in a 5 mph side-wind without drift of more than one meter.  The inability to remain stable in side-winds was the primary issue with the CIA’s “insectothopter,” a robotic dragonfly was developed in the 1970’s. [8]

Insectothopter

This unmanned aerial vehicle “was the size of a dragonfly, and was hand-painted to look like one.” [9] Powered by a small gasoline engine, the insectothopter proved unusable due to its inability to withstand even moderate wind gusts.

CIA's Insectothopter

The Nano-Hummingbird was named by Time Magazine as one of the 50 best inventions of 2011 [10] and has paved the way for the development of a whole generation of bird inspired ‘bots, including Prioria’s “Maveric,” . . .

Maveric

Maveric in Motion



. . . and, the even more “bird-like,” Robo-Raven, which is still in development by the Army Research Laboratory.

Robo-Raven in Flight

Robo-Raven in Motion

. . . And More Robo-Raven in Motion

Also, the development of this first small bird-bot brought the U.S. Air Force one step closer to one of the goals on its wish list: “flocks of small drones.” [11]

And . . . a flock of small drones sounds really cool – as long as the flock isn’t after me.

[Next Week's Post: Part II -- The Maveric -- Today's Bird-Bot]

ROBOTS: Fast On Their Feet -- Robo-Cheetah & The Wildcat

6 February 2014



            Creating a “legged” robot is one thing.  Making it run instead of walk is another.  But, then, there’s yet another challenge.  Can you make it run fast?

            Developed for DARPA by Boston Dynamics, the robo-cheetah’s claim to fame is its speed.  Modeled after the real-life cheetah, this robot boasts a “cat-like spine,” which “flexes and extends” with the robot’s galloping stride. And it gallops -- “constantly tipping forward, falling, and regaining equilibrium with every step.”  After the development of the first prototype, in 2011, it was showcased running at speeds of up to 18 mph by March of 2012.  By September, it clocked 28.3 mph – faster than the fastest human runner in a hundred-yard dash.

            Of course, with all the excitement, Robo-Cheetah still had a couple issues that needed to be ironed-out before it could go bounding across a battlefield.  It was running at high speeds, but it was only running on a treadmill.  Still, it was about ready to jump off the treadmill and, at least, onto flat ground. 

            Robo-Cheetah's biggest issue was that it was still “tethered” by a power cord.  In other words, it had to be plugged into a wall socket to get the juice it needed to move.   There’s no portable power pack for this ‘bot that can store enough power to let it run free.  Portable power supplies are a big issue in robotics and one of the biggest challenges to maximum performance. 

            There’s a tradeoff.  You need enough power to allow the ‘bot to operate for long stretches of time.  You, also, need a power pack light-weight enough for the ‘bot to carry.  But, when you make the power pack light enough, there’s not enough power to run the ‘bot.  And, when you make a power pack with enough power, the pack (and ‘bot) become so heavy that, now, . . . the 'bot's short on power -- again.  It's like running in a circle. 

Robo-Cheetah 

            But, soon, there were more than technical challenges – there were challengers.   The first competitor was MIT. The Biomimetic Robotics Lab at MIT, also under the sponsorship of DARPA, was, and is, working on its own version of the robo-cheetah.  MIT is trying to recreate the running movement of the real cheetah.  They’re more public with their work.  The MIT website shows their version of Robo-Cheetah.  Their robot can’t run as fast as the Boston Dynamics model, but MIT’s model boasts a “highly efficient leg motor, imitation tendons, and a responsive tail.”  With these improvements MIT’s Robo-Cheetah has a rhythm and movement completely different from other four-legged ‘bots. 

MIT's Version of Robo-Cheetah 

            MIT's Robo-Cheetah, also, “will” run on a battery (but it, too, is still plugged into a wall-socket).  Unlike the other Robo-Cheetah, MIT’s uses a surprisingly simple and more effective way of regulating its leg motion – one without the usual sensors and complicated computer feedback-loops that were, and are, still a common part of robotic technology.

            But what’s so important about imitating a real cheetah?  The robo-cheetah is one of a group of DARPA-funded projects applying the concepts of biorobotics.  To meet DARPA’s requirements, drones must be built to perform more like . . . wildlife.  The term “biomimetics” or “biomimicry” is used to describe the development of technology designed to imitate and replicate the activities of biological systems and organisms.   But, why imitate nature?  Well, “if you want drones 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.”

            The need for walking (rather than rolling) robots is a prime example.  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 limited.  Human beings, horses, mules, and dogs can all travel over terrain that would be impossible for any wheeled vehicle to handle. 

            How do you design a ‘bot that travels over rough terrain like a mule?  Well, you design it . . . like a mule.  And Boston Dynamics' “Robo-Mule” (later, renamed “BigDog”) was the first in a new line of bio-inspired “walking” robots.  But, again, why a cheetah?  Is it just a cool sounding name or is it the sleek look of the moving animal?  Neither. There’s something special about cheetahs that DARPA wants to capture in robotic performance.

            Robo-Cheetah is being designed to move, quite specifically, like a cheetah.  Unlike Robo-Mule (“BigDog”), Robo-Cheetah is meant to be ultra-speedy and agile, able to “chase and evade” like the actual animal.  Designers are working on getting it to run at cheetah speed, but their ultimate ambition goes much farther than that.  They hope to design a ‘bot that can run faster than any animal on earth -- as fast as 70 mph.

            Robo-Cheetah will have many military applications, including emergency and disaster response.  But DARPA has hinted at performance that might improve on nature.  At least, humans might be able to do things with Robo-Cheetah you’d never try with the real thing – including uses in “advanced agriculture and vehicular travel.”  Just think.  Riding a Robo-Cheetah!

            Of course, the pressure rose with two Robo-Cheetahs in development: The speedy one by Boston Dynamics and the graceful one by MIT.  But, the race got even tighter when another competitor came out of left field -- the Robo-Ostrich.  Ostrich?  What’s an ostrich got to offer in this race?  An ostrich is a bird, and it can’t even fly.  Well, fly it can’t, but maybe it doesn’t need to because the ostrich is the fastest land animal on earth.

            DARPA has funded the joint effort of MIT and the Florida Institute of Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in a project to develop a robot that walks and runs.  But the end result of this latest effort will be the first robotic biped in the DARPA arsenal -- a robotic ostrich.

            Robo-Ostrich is designed not just to walk, but to run and run fast.  Although the first full prototype has yet to be designed, the working computer simulation has legs and is hitting speeds of 27 mph.  Impressive, again, because this is about the speed of the fastest human runner in a hundred yard dash.

Robo-Ostrich 

            Robo-Ostrich’s designers are only hoping for a maximum speed of 50 miles an hour – faster than the fastest ostrich -- clocked at 43 mph.  On the other hand, this is a bit slower than the 70 mph Boston Dynamics is hoping for Robo-Cheetah.   But there’s “a whole ‘lot of hoping going on” here.  Robo-Cheetah isn’t off the treadmill, and Robo-Ostrich is a computer simulation.  We’ll just wait and see.

            What’s the secret of Robo-Ostrich’s speed?  Two legs.  What’s so special about a two-legged robot?  Not only is a two-legged robot lighter than a robot with twice the number of legs, but its movements are more flexible allowing it to, among other things, “get through narrower spaces” and maneuver more easily around obstacles.  With such a flexible build, this robot, like other “be-footed” robots, is designed to negotiate rough terrain that would defy a wheeled-vehicle like a jeep.  Even on the most irregular surfaces, the finished ‘bot is expected to run (or walk) at a speed of 10 mph, more than twice as fast as a walking human being.

            Well, with MIT pushing hard to the goal with both their robots, Robo-Cheetah and Robo-Ostrich, Boston Dynamics had to do something.  They announced their plan to take the lead in the race, by unleashing Robo-Cheetah from its treadmill.  They promised their Robo-Cheetah, unteathered, would hit the road in 2013.   And it did, but with a twist.

            In 2013, the cordless “Wildcat” was shown galloping and running (and even running backward) on flat terrain.  But, wait, what happened to Robo-Cheetah?  Why the Wildcat?  Why Robo-Cheetah's little sister?

            To speed up development, Robo-Cheetah was . . . modified.  To get rid of its power cord and, then, to get it off the treadmill and onto the ground, Robo-Cheetah had to lose some of its bulk and weight.   It, also, lost its electric motor and gained an internal combustion (gasoline powered) engine.   Even with these reductions, it lost some of its treadmill speed -- slowing from 28 to about 16 mph. 

            The Wildcat may be slower than the fastest human in a hundred yard dash but, if its chasing you, you’d better get to safety within that hundred yards.  Why?  Because the Wildcat will still be going strong and fast long after you, I, or any human runner, would have worn out and fallen to the ground.  The Wildcat still only performs on flat terrain, but the plan is to have it walking on the same rough ground that its distant cousin the Robo-Mule/BigDog handles with ease.

 



The Wildcat

 

Thursday 6 February 2014

GCLM5444HOxenia

ROBOTS: “Climbing the Walls” – The RiSE Robots

 12 June 2014

            Just when you think you know about all of DARPA’s “legged-robots,” another one pops up.  Or, in this case, climbs up the wall beside you and “surprises” you.

RiSE V1

 

            The RiSE climbing robots, though certainly platforms for the development of future technology, are themselves prototypes designed for field operations and testing.  The RiSE six-legged (“hexapodal”) robots are designed to walk on level ground, but their “claim to fame” is the ability to climb up vertical surfaces.       

 

RiSE V1

            With DARPA funding, “RiSE V-1” was principally designed by Boston Dynamics with “input” from the collaborative consortium including Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, U.C. Berkeley, and Lewis & Clark University.  With six legs and two motors, the V1’s vertical climbing abilities were tested on less than smooth surfaces such as a “carpeted wall” and a tree trunk. 

RiSE V2

            The next generation, the RiSE V2, extended the range of “climbable” surfaces.  Like its predecessor, this ‘bot could climb natural, outdoor, vertical surfaces including trees.  But, unlike its predecessor, the V2 could also climb the sides of buildings.  The “body” of the V2 was made larger to hold its power supply, i.e., battery packs.  Because the V2’s had a larger foot mechanism, the body was also made longer with the insertion of “spacers” to allow more clearance for the movement of the ‘bot’s “feet.”

 

RiSE V2 & RiSE V3



            Described as having a “dramatically different gait,” this newest “climber” uses its legs in a different way to, not just to be able to climb poles, but to be a “rapid” pole climber.  Climbing at a bit over 8.5 inches per second, this ‘bot moves up those poles fast. 

RiSE V3

 

            But the continuing development of this ‘bot is aimed at getting it off the byroad and back onto the main drag.  There are two other objectives of the V3’s on-going development.  This ‘bot (1) needs to be able to walk (or run) as fast on flat ground as it does when climbing poles; and (2) need to be able to climb flat walls and other vertical surfaces as well as its “ancestor,” the V2.

            The RiSE robots take there place among the ever-increasing number of DARPA’s  “bioinspired” robotic projects.  The terms “biomimetics” or “biomimicry” have 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.

See also: LittleDog Does it First

 

Thursday 12 June 2014

GCLM5444HOxenia

ROBOTS: “Legged” Robots – LittleDog Does It First

5 June 2014

            In 2005, Boston Dynamics unveiled BigDog (also search “Big Dog”) a four-legged (quadrupedal) robot.  The project, funded by DARPA, was intended to develop the robotic equivalent of a pack mule to work directly with soldiers in the field.  As a “legged” robot, BigDog was expected to go where wheeled vehicles couldn’t. 

ROBOTS: Big Dog – Terrestrial Support Robotics

 

 

          Then came “Alpha Dog,” the LS3, an advanced version of BigDog.

 

 

Alpha Dog

ROBOTS: “Alpha Dog” – “Big Dog” Taken to the Next Level

             Boston Dynamics has continued with the on-going development of a faster quadruped, Robo-Cheetah.  Even as Robo-Cheetah took the speed record for “legged” ‘bots, topping 28 mph on an in-lab treadmill, developers remain optimistic that this ‘bot will, someday, reach even higher speeds. 
 

Robo-Cheetah



            While Robo-Cheetah stayed tethered to its treadmill, last October, a slightly smaller and slower spin-off, the Wildcat, jumped off the treadmill.   The Wildcat left its “power cord” behind running at speeds of just over 15 mph.

 

WildCat



            But that’s not all.  A bipedal robo-ostrich, “FastRunner,” has been modeled (computer simulated prototype) as, yet another, more advanced battle ‘bot.  FastRunner’s two legs will allow it to gain more speed and move with more agility than any four-legged robot ever could.

FastRunner / "Robo-Ostrich"

            But let’s take a few steps back.  There’s a smaller less celebrated robot that has had a significant place in the development process of all this robotic technology.  I can’t call this an “unsung” robot, but it’s certainly “less-sung” than the full sized robots we’ve been talking about.  To many, this small robot seems almost like a detail on the R & D trail to the ever-growing family of ever more amazing legged robotic achievements.  But, sometimes, there's more than you'd suspect "in the details."  

LittleDog

            LittleDog was developed by Boston Dynamics with DARPA funding.  Unlike other robotic prototypes, Little Dog was never intended as a stand-alone “field” robot.  LittleDog was, and is, a “testbed.”

            A testbed is a sort of a standard “model” of a device of a certain type -- such as an automobile, airplane, computer, or computer operating system.  This model is used to test new components.  So, let’s say an automobile manufacturer develops the prototype of an innovative new automobile engine or chassis.  The manufacturer’s research division will maintain a sort of “standard” or “model” vehicle into which the newly developed component and be installed and tested. 

            So, LittleDog, “The Legged Locomotion Learning Robot,” is not, and never will be, a robot for use in the field.  Instead, it is a model used to test components being developed for other projects.  And there is more perfected technology stuffed into this small ‘bot than you'd ever guess. 

            Each of LittleDog’s four legs is powered by three electric motors.  At a length of about 12 inches, a width of about 7 inches, and a height of about 5 and a half inches, this small ‘bot can move over obstacles much larger than the length of its legs and body.



LittleDog

            Several separate teams are working at the development of LittleDog’s speed and agility of movement.  All are confident that, if they can make LittleDog do it, the same capacities and abilities can be built into its bigger “field” counterparts.   LittleDog already has such a good “sense of it's surroundings” that it can avoid obstacles that, sometimes, trip-up its comparatively giant “field” counterparts.

            Among other things, LittleDog is trying out new software, which is intended to allow this little ‘bot to read maps and navigate through the corresponding terrain.  Other teams have "taught" this 'bot new walking techniques that allow LittleDog to negotiate obstacles the robot could neither see nor predict.



            While LittleDog may not actually “run with the big dogs,” those bigger dogs can't do anything that LittleDog hasn’t done first.

 

Thursday 5 June 2014

GCLM5444HOxenia

ROBOTS: “Alpha Dog” – “BigDog” Taken to the Next Level

 15 May 2014

Alpha Dog

            As short a time as 15 years ago, it seemed almost impossible to imagine a walking robot.  At least, a walking robot that wasn’t an entertainment device.  Sure, you could design a device that went through all the motions of walking.  But it would walk on an ideally flat surface with no external physical interference or interaction of any kind.  In other words, most walking robots were not so different from those animatronic devices displayed in Disneyland shows.

            As long as the environment was carefully adjusted to the limitations of a walking robot, everything would be fine.  But that’s not what DARPA wanted.  The DARPA program required a robot that could . . . really walk.  This robot’s purpose was to accompany soldiers, potentially in combat situations, as they walked through rough terrain.  Just as humans and animals adjust their walking to the terrain, so would the robot envisioned by the DARPA project. 

            In other words, DARPA wanted a robot that could, and would, walk in every sense of the word. 

 



 

Big Dog

 

            The initial project, undertaken by Boston Dynamics, resulted in the unveiling of quadruped (four-legged) “Big Dog” in 2005.  It’s funny, but there’s something almost creepy looking about Big Dog in every still shot.  But when you see it move, the creepiness disappears as the viewer clearly recognizes something “familiar” and “natural” in walking motion of the robot.   Just watching Big Dog in motion wordlessly defines the term “biomimickry” – a technology copied from (imitating) nature. 
 

Big Dog (at the Beach?)

 

            LS3 is the“Legged Squad Support System.” And Big Dog was just the beginning. 

            What complex problem was this new “legged” technology designed to solve?  The Army identified “physical overburden” as major problem in warfare.  The modern soldier carries a substantial load of gear -- weighing as much as 100 pounds.  Both soldiers’ performance and readiness are impaired by the physical weight of their gear. 

            Well, “in the old days,” this problem was solved with a mule.   Accompanying soldiers, in the field, was a load bearing animal, a mule, which carried a lot of heavy gear leaving the soldiers less fatigued and more responsive to expected and unexpected challenges.

            In 2012, Boston Dynamics unveiled the LS3 -- “Alpha Dog” – Big Dog taken to the next level.   
 

Alpha Dog

            Alpha Dog can carry a bigger load – increased from 340 to 400 pounds.   This new version is quieter making a sound considerably quieter than the “swarm of bees sound” made by its predecessor.   While Big Dog was vulnerable to “cow tippers,” Alpha Dog and can “right” itself if tipped over. 

            Alpha Dog is also faster than its predecessor.  The robot manages a 1 to 3 mph walk over rough terrain and a 5 mph jog over relatively level surfaces.  On a flat surface, such as a roadway, Alpha Dog can reach a speed of 7 mph. 

Alpha Dogs

 

            Put in practical terms, the goal is to develop a robot that can travel with a squad of soldiers as they complete their mission – without hindering that mission in any way.  In order to do this, Alpha Dog will have to be able to follow the squad, but with a degree of independence or autonomy. 

            While Alpha Dog will respond to voice commands, the commander cannot command Alpha Dog in its every action without the robot becoming more of a burden and less of a help to its handler.  So, Alpha Dog’s design is must incorporate certain “autonomy settings.”   These settings will include: (1) “leader-follower tight,” (2) “leader-follower corridor,” and (3) “go-to-waypoint.”

            (1) Leader-follower tight: Requires the Alpha Dog to follow the leader’s path as closely as possible. 

            (2) Leader-follower corridor: Requires Alpha Dog to “follow” the leader, but with the “freedom to make local path decisions.”  So, the leader will not have to worry or account for Alpha Dog’s mobility capabilities.  The robot can vary its path slightly to avoid obstacles or obstructions without any special intervention from the leader.

            (3)  Go-to-waypoint: Requires Alpha Dog to proceed to particular set of GPS coordinates without a leader – avoiding obstacles on its own.

            A reasonable question: How can it do these things unless it can see?

            Well, for its own purposes, it can see.

            Alpha Dog has a “stereo” vision system.  First, it has a pair of cameras mounted into its “head.”  Second, each camera focuses on the same object or location from a slightly different angle – like human vision.  The angle to which each camera must adjust to focus on a distant object or location, discloses the depth, or distance, of that object or point.  

            But Alpha Dog also has a LIDAR detecting and ranging system.  LIDAR is a just a combination of the words “light” and “radar,” but is often assumed to be an acronym for “LIght Detection And Ranging.” (A useful factoid when you are trying to locate resources about this technology.)  Not only does the LIDAR system help Alpha Dog follow a human lead, but also records intelligence data directly from its environment.

            This type of sophisticated, simulated vision is necessary to allow Alpha Dog to meet another basic DARPA project requirement.  Without the “perception” capability to detect and judge both distance and grade, this robot wouldn’t be able to “walk” up and down hills.

            In terms of communication, Alpha Dog can’t give orders, but will be able to take orders.  Voice recognition technologies allow squad members direct spoken commands to which this robot responds.
 

Alpha Dog Takes Voice Commands
 

            It seems almost anticlimactic to add that Alpha Dog will be equipped with technologies to recharge batteries.  (It’s almost like saying the ‘bot can, also, open soup cans.)  But a mobile auxiliary power source is important to a squad in the field.  We are talking about batteries that power radios and other handheld technologies used by squad members on patrol.

            There will be “more.”  DARPA’s final goals for the perfected ‘bot will include a much larger load-carrying capacity.  The current 400 pound maximum will need to increase to 1,000 pounds – the weight of the gear required by a nine-man infantry squad on a 3 day mission.  Although Alpha Dog’s walking speed is about to par, its range will have to increase to allow the ‘bot to walk at about two-and-a-half mph for 8 hours.  Also, the ‘bot must be able to “burst” into 220 yard sprints at a speed of about 24 mph. 

Thursday 15 May 2014

GCLM5444HOxenia

See also: Big Dog -- Terrestrial Support Robotics

ROBOTS: BigDog – Terrestrial Support Robotics

15 May 2014

            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.

Army, Lockheed to test drones-only mission, by air and land

            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.

 

BigDog (in Winter?)

 

Thursday 15 May 2014

GCLM5444HOxenia

See also: "Alpha Dog" -- "Big Dog" Taken to the Next Level

ROBOTS: Hydra – The Undersea Drone with Drones of its Own

1 May 2014

 

            Cut one head off and two more grow back?  It’s from Greek mythology.  The creature’s name was Hydra.  DARPA has given the same name to a planned unmanned vehicle.  This underwater drone would do little in terms of actual “engagement.”  Instead, it would be “stocked” with drones of every imaginable kind.  Traveling to various hot spots, the Hydra would deploy the numbers and kinds of drones needed to do the job – whatever that job might be.

            The Hydra has been called an underwater version of an aircraft carrier.  Not designed so much to engage in combat or reconnaissance, the Hydra, like the aircraft carrier, is intended to transport items designed for these very purposes.  But, unlike the aircraft carrier, the Hydra is both unmanned and a “submarine” vehicle – tagged with the acronym, UUV, unmanned underwater vehicle.

See: Photos of the Day: The Hydra underwater drone

            A DARPA sponsored presentation of the project was made on “Proposer’s Day” at John’s Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.   The Hydra program’s goal was described as the development of an “unmanned air and undersea system” to deliver “unmanned air and underwater vehicles into operational environments.”

            When you think about it, you realize that building the Hydra also requires building a fleet of drones of every variety with extremely diverse functions.  Just to fill-in a few details, the Hydra doesn’t just carry its payload as it travels underwater, its drones are actually deployed underwater.  Some of the deployed drones could perform their functions underwater.  Others could rise to the surface and continue to operate as unmanned surface vehicles.  Still others could rise to the surface and take off into the air -- becoming airborne.  [view image]

            Although the Hydra is unmanned, this doesn’t mean that it couldn’t be equipped with deployable drones that could, themselves, transport human beings in emergencies. DARPA engineers are considering the design of a “submersible” “capsule” for the transportation of troops.  Again, the troops wouldn’t be passengers in the Hydra.  Rather, the Hydra would deploy a drone able to pick up troops at one location and take them to another location.  The resulting stealth delivery would assist in rescue operations as well as the surgical strike type of military operation. 

            The Hydra’s program manager, Scott Littlefield, has pointed out the economic savings resulting from the use of unmanned technology in the development of underwater defense strategies.  Littlefield sees these unmanned technologies as providing a way to expand our defense capabilities even with tightening budgets. 

DARPA goes deep: New Hydra project to see underwater drones deploying drones

            Clearly, drone technology would be much cheaper to deploy and operate than similar manned technologies.  Historically, submarines, for example, costly, inflexible (slow) in response compared to this proposed drone technology.  Submarines have also presented unavoidable dangers to human crews as well as a good deal of discomfort.

Hydra Program [view video]

            The sheer extent of underwater coverage promised by the development of the Hydra is unprecedented.  The hydra program would maintain a presence beneath all the relatively shallow waters of not only the seas, but also the world’s river systems. But what about the deep seas . . . ?

            Not to worry.

            Complementing the UVV’s of the Hydra program would be the “pods” and “modules” of the UFP program.  The UFP (upward falling payloads) program would place pods containing supply modules and drones on the deep sea floors.  Because of the extremely depth (more than two and a half miles), the pods would quite difficult to access.  On the one hand, the depth provides the perfect stealth.  On the other hand, the access difficulties make it necessary that the pods be designed and stocked to last years at a time. 

UFP [view image]

            Like the Hydra, the UFP pods would be filled with supply modules and drones that could be delivered to the ocean’s surface when needed.  And the delivery is the easiest part of the system.  The modules and drones would be buoyant, lighter than water.  Upon release, with water pressure at the deep sea floor, the drones and/or modules don’t just float, but seem to rush to the surface so quickly that it looks like . . . “falling upward.” Hence, “upward falling payloads.”

ROBOTS: Upward Falling? A New Generation of Undersea Drones

            The Hydra and UFP programs are part of a new wave of logistically oriented drone systems.  The new emphasis can be seen with another DARPA program to compliment the familiar aerial combat drone. DARPA, together with Lockheed Martin, is working to develop not only unmanned aircraft, but unmanned land vehicles to supply soldiers in combat. 

Thursday 1 May 2014

GCLM5444HOxenia

DARPA: Hydra Program

DARPA Hydra, here comes the mothership designed to deploy drones

What SNL did for the land shark, Lockheed Martin may be doing for the “land drone.”  See: Army, Lockheed to test drones-only mission, by air and land