Post by bugmenot on Oct 17, 2009 3:16:21 GMT 10
Oozy new military toy ;D www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2686587/Oozy-new-military-toy.html
Blob ... the robot can change shape
Oozy ... the latest in military technology
THIS is no ordinary shapeless blob - it is in fact the latest in robot technology.
Looking more like a sinister alien life-form, the ChemBot oozes and pulsates across the floor.
It has been developed by technology company iRobot and has the ability to squeeze through all manner of cracks and crevices.
This little robot is not just a fun gimmick, the company were in fact given military funding to build the blob.
The idea is that the palm-sized machine can assist in reconnaissance or search and rescue missions by transforming to fit through tiny spaces.
Its secret is a process called "jamming" which sees material changing between a semi-liquid and solid state by increasing and decreasing its density.
The ChemBot, short for chemical robot, features compartments filled with air and loosely packed particles within its flexible silicon skin.
When the air is removed, the decrease in pressure constricts the skin and the particles shift slightly to fill the void left by the air, resulting in the solidification of the compartment.
Beneath the skin is an incompressible fluid and an actuator that can vary its volume.
Still at an early stage of development potential applications for ChemBots include space exploration, military operations and medical devices that can be implanted in the human body. They might also prove useful for rescue operations in hostile environments such as subterranean or undersea mines and caves.
The project was funded by the US Army Research Office and D.A.R.P.A. (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), who gave iRobot $3.3million.
www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2686587/Oozy-new-military-toy.html
Blob ... the robot can change shape
Oozy ... the latest in military technology
THIS is no ordinary shapeless blob - it is in fact the latest in robot technology.
Looking more like a sinister alien life-form, the ChemBot oozes and pulsates across the floor.
It has been developed by technology company iRobot and has the ability to squeeze through all manner of cracks and crevices.
This little robot is not just a fun gimmick, the company were in fact given military funding to build the blob.
The idea is that the palm-sized machine can assist in reconnaissance or search and rescue missions by transforming to fit through tiny spaces.
Its secret is a process called "jamming" which sees material changing between a semi-liquid and solid state by increasing and decreasing its density.
The ChemBot, short for chemical robot, features compartments filled with air and loosely packed particles within its flexible silicon skin.
When the air is removed, the decrease in pressure constricts the skin and the particles shift slightly to fill the void left by the air, resulting in the solidification of the compartment.
Beneath the skin is an incompressible fluid and an actuator that can vary its volume.
Still at an early stage of development potential applications for ChemBots include space exploration, military operations and medical devices that can be implanted in the human body. They might also prove useful for rescue operations in hostile environments such as subterranean or undersea mines and caves.
The project was funded by the US Army Research Office and D.A.R.P.A. (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), who gave iRobot $3.3million.
www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2686587/Oozy-new-military-toy.html
Happy New Years Everybody!!!
