Join Robotic prison wardens will patrol South Korean prison
I know that in Terminator Salvation, you had these machined guards making sure that no humans were able to indulge in some hanky panky to escape from their prisons, but that is still a very, very far scenario in the future – and hopefully for humanity’s sake, not one that will happen. After all, to be enslaved by a race of robots is not an idea that is worth thinking about, no? Well, we have some semblance of what future prisons would look like – hailing from South Korea, what you see on the right would be a prison guard roobt prototype that will go on trial in March next year.
In fact, a jail that is located in the eastern city of Pohang intends to run a month-long trial, where a trio of such automatons will enter into action in March 2012. I suppose if the automaton would be like the Destroyer in Thor, prisoners will definitely toe the line, don’t you think so? After all, if Frost Giants would shiver in fear (pardon the pun) at the sight of the Destroyer, it makes sense for us puny humans to feel the same as well. To know more about these robotic prison wardens, head on after the jump.
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Bionic Bopper Cars for those with deep pockets
I know there is this Occupy Wall Street movement and what not, with the working class really frustrated at the way things have turned out for them, but still, there are some others who are above all that is going on below, living in their very own reality. Of course, this elite class have virtually bottomless bank accounts, leading them to be able to afford Christmas toys such as these – the $17,000 Bionic Bopper Cars. If you have watched Real Steel in the cinemas already, then you might be able to identify better.
The Bionic Bopper Cars are actually motorized boxers which are controlled by a couple of drivers who do battle to deliver chin-lifting uppercuts for victory. Just like how bumper cars work, a driver (who should not weigh more than 300 lbs.) will sit inside the robot’s protective steel cage cockpit, where a thumb-triggered button on a couple of independent joysticks will activate the two pneumatic-powered, tire-tread-fisted arms. These arms throw a mean uppercut towards your opponent’s head, where a successful connect will net you a point in the process.
Trust Honda to provide the gas engine which powers each robot’s hidden wheels up to 3 mph for forward, backward, and left and right spins. I wonder what’s the learning curve for this, and who is going to perform the repairs when they get all beat up?
Frauenhofer Institute’s robot spider
We have reported on robots that can search through rubble before, such as the Omnitread. Generally, these types of robots are snake-shaped so they can fit into narrow crevices.
This robot from the Frauenhofer Institute in Germany is arachnid in shape, but it is essentially the same thing. These eight legs are all on hydraulics, and four of its legs on the ground at the same time.
As for the body of this robot, it has many sensors, including radiation monitors in case it has to go into irradiated zones. It also has video cameras so it can find what is really important: survivors.
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Boston Dynamics’ PETMAN is not what you would think
Some of you might remember when we reported on Boston Dynamics Alpha Dog, which is essentially a giant robotic Great Dane. What you are seeing here is PETMAN, which is an acronym for Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin, and it looks like the robot you would build if you wanted to take the Alpha Dog for a walk.
Actually, the reason why Boston Dynamics built PETMAN was to test out clothing worn by soldiers. As you can see in the video after the jump, the PETMAN can easily drop and give you twenty.
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Raytheon-Sarcos prototype is for heavy lifting
What you are seeing here is a modified Ditch Witch from Raytheon-Sarcos, and it is essentially the top half of a Power Loader from Aliens.
As you might have guessed, it gives a user’s upper arms superhuman strength. In case you think you might need crane operator training to operate this, you are wrong. All you need to do is use your own arms, and the metallic arms match.
You can watch the video after the jump, and it shows how easy it is to use. I have no idea how heavy those sheets of metal are, but I’m guessing that you don’t want to haul them without some machinery. I have to admit that I didn’t see the comparison between the movie Real Steel and this, but I would pay to see two of these robot arms fighting it out in real life.
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Boston Dynamics AlphaDog is great robotic mule
The people at Boston Dynamics have created the AlphaDog, a robotic mule that is capable of carrying 400 pounds. Not surprisingly, this project has been developed by DARPA.
I’m guessing that the purpose of the Alpha Dog is to be a robotic beast of burden when the troops are deployed. Now you won’t have to have the soldiers who carry the heavy equipment, as this robo-mule will do it for them.
You should definitely hit the jump to see this Alpha Dog in action, as it is able to manage some pretty rough terrain. Granted, it is being held up by something, but it is enough to show that it could work. DARPA hopes to get a working one of these by 2012.
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Stevens Institute of Technology actually makes a product called SkyNET
In case you doubt the headline, let me reassure you that it is true. Stevens Institute of Technology actually made a product call SkyNET.
Have we learned nothing from the Terminator movie series? I can see why we didn’t learn from the last two Terminator movies, because there wasn’t much to learn from them that wasn’t already said in the first two films. Do you really want to create robots that can fly around like in those killer-robot films, and then name them after the evil corporation that is in these films?
The SkyNET isn’t made with big guns, but this a Linux box, which uses a Parrot A.R. Drone for flight. It is designed to fly within the range of a wireless network and electronically attack it. In other words, this thing is like the annoying moth flying around your home, and jamming you. I am told from my Source that it is difficult to trace.
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Paraswift, the first base-jumping robot
You should probably just go straight to the video after the jump so you can see the Paraswift, the world’s first base-jumping robot.
What you will see is pretty cool. The Paraswift is able to climb up a wall that looks like a long banner via suction. What really makes it cool is that when it reaches the top, it spreads its wings and jumps off, flying to the ground. It reminds me of Johnny 5 from Short Circuit 2.
The Paraswift is a collaboration between the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and Disney Research. The purpose of the Paraswift is not just some quick entertainment, as a compact robot that can climb and fly can work to gather aerial footage for 3D modeling systems.
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