Convergent Science Network » Atlas https://csnblog.specs-lab.com Blog on Biomimetics and Neurotechnology. With [writers] Michael Szollosy, Dmitry Malkov, Michelle Wilson, and Anna Mura [editor] Tue, 27 Sep 2022 14:58:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.40 WildCat: BigDog’s New Rival https://csnblog.specs-lab.com/2013/10/12/wildcat-big-dogs-new-rival/ https://csnblog.specs-lab.com/2013/10/12/wildcat-big-dogs-new-rival/#comments Sat, 12 Oct 2013 11:50:14 +0000 http://csnblog.specs-lab.com/?p=4771 Continue reading →]]>

Boston Dynamic’s been keeping dog lovers happy throughout their steady development of BigDog, a robot with uncannily canine gait and maneuvers. Now, feline aficionados can finally rejoice as WildCat makes its way into the robot world.

However this is not the the first time that Boston Dynamics has taken a crack at cat-like bots — WildCat’s predecessor is the Cheetah bot which boasted a running speed of 45 km/hour. While this machine’s no slow poke, it can currently only run at about 26 km/hour but its truly biomimetic design should have it up to speed with real-world wild cats in the near future.

As part of US’ Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) program, robots like WildCat are being developed to increase the efficacy of military operations across a great range of missions.

And even though cats and dogs don’t normally get along in the real-world, humans may choose to have their robot counterparts working together. Machines like BigDog could be charged with the task of carrying heavy loads over long periods time, while ones like the WildCat might be used when there’s a need to maneuver with speed and agility.

But let’s not forget androids! If you were fascinated by Boston Dynamic’s PETMAN, it’s high time you check out its upgraded version Atlas. It may look a little scary in the video below but researchers are confident that bots like these might be able to help humans out in life-threatening situations.

]]> https://csnblog.specs-lab.com/2013/10/12/wildcat-big-dogs-new-rival/feed/ 1 Petman is Back! https://csnblog.specs-lab.com/2012/11/01/petman-is-back/ https://csnblog.specs-lab.com/2012/11/01/petman-is-back/#comments Thu, 01 Nov 2012 08:41:23 +0000 http://www.robotcompanions.eu/blog/?p=4357 Continue reading →]]> With greater skill and finesse as the Pet-proto

You may be familiar with the US’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Petman robot, which was featured in one of our previous posts along with some other incredible humanoid robots. In coordination with Boston Dynamics once again, DARPA has recently released a new video introducing Pet-proto, a machine which is being developed as precursor to the Atlas robot whose making is in the works.

Embedded with autonomous decision capabilities, this bot can move over and around various types of obstacles. Robots such as this one will need these kinds of skills if they’re planning on competing in DARPA’s Robotics Challenge (DRC). The program officially kicked off in October of 2012 and it is scheduled to run for about 27 months that will include 3 virtual and live competitions planned for June 2013, December 2013 and December 2014.

The DRC won’t be all fun and games- its primary aim will be to foster the development machines fit to lend a hand to victims of natural or man-made diasters, executing risky tasks such as evacuation operations. DARPA notes that participants of the DRC should specifically focus on creating ground robots that are able to make use of human tools commonly applied in disaster relief situations.

Two of the four competition tracks are still open for registration. Check out the official website for more information HERE if you think your team may have what it takes!

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