As part of a competition to design complex robots for search-and-rescue operations, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has unveiled the first video of their ape-like entry, RoboSimian. It's a little creepy, in part because it has no head. But it's hard to hate a robot that's designed to save lives.
Designed and built by JPL and Stanford engineers, RoboSimian is a competitor in the DARPA Robotics Challenge, which calls on participants to create strong, dextrous, and flexible robots that could aid in disasters such as nuclear meltdowns or building collapses. They are intended to go places that would be too dangerous for humans. To win, the semi-autonomous robots will have to complete difficult tasks such as removing debris from a doorway, using a tool to break through a concrete panel, connecting a fire hose to a pipe and turning it on, and driving a vehicle at a disaster site. The competition, which began in 2012, will have its first trials in December and a final test to determine the winner one year later. Teams are competing for a $2 million prize.
Many of the teams in the challenge are creating fairly humanoid robots. RoboSimian, as its name implies, looks a bit more like one of our close ape cousins. It has four very flexible limbs, each of which will have a three-fingered hand. The hands seem like they will be quite useful for some of the DARPA-set requirements, such as climbing a ladder. The above video — with its background work-out music — shows the robot doing some nice pull ups as well as computer renderings of what the final machine may look like.
Video: JPLnews/Youtube
