Posted by
emmett
on from the danger-will-robinson dept.
rhet writes "Here's an interesting article about an autonomous robot that is exploring the Antarctic looking for meteorites. So far it has found three of them. The robot, Nomad, is built by Carnegie Mellon. Nomad's home page is here."
Given that off-the-shelf components are relatively cheap, it strikes me that it would be feasible to cobble together an open source rover for exploration of remote areas. Cameras and sensors are cheap. A ham radio satellite link can be used for communication. Just get someone to take the rover along on an Antarctic resupply mission (I live right by the company that supports the Antarctic research stations - I could talk to someone there), set it down and let 'er go. Even if no valuable data is gained from the project, it would at least be fun. And we all know that's the most important thing anyway.
Heck, this could even lead to amateur-built, open source space probes;) Make something small and relatively self-sufficient, and you could buy some space on the shuttle or an Arianne rocket. That's how hams get their satellites up. I think it would be WAY cool to have our own, cheap orbiting web cam:)
-- -Vercingetorix
"Necessitas non habet legem." -St. Augustine
A bunch of penguins programmed to create the perfect OS find the damaged NOMAD and attempt to repair the programming of it. They redesign it to look for the perfect operating system and steralize all those that are not perfect.
When NOMAD finds the imperfect OS'es Win9x and Win2K as well as MacOS and steralizes them. Captain Gatesvolds of the USS Blue Screen is sent to find out why his creations were destroyed. He uploads NOMAD onto the Blue Screen and NOMAD mistakes him for the creator. SpJobs, Gatesvolds first officer does a mind meld with NOMAD and finds out that the creator was Torvalds. NOMAD then erases the memory of SAM and kills unit Registry because it sees that they are not perfect. Gatesvolds tells NOMAD that he is the creator and that he is not perfect so NOMAD should destroy itself but NOMAD is too smart for Gatesvolds and kills him too because he wears unstylish glasses and is obviously not perfect. NOMAD then destroys the USS Blue Screen and goes in search of his perfect creator Torvalds and his first officer Cox on board the USS-Kernel Panic. NOMAD becomes a little more human when Torvalds tells him that Linux is not perfect but sharing is a lot more fun than hoarding.
The End...
FOR NOW...BUM BUM BUM...
-- (B) + (D) + (B) + (D) = (K) + (&)
Re:I'll be impressed when...
by
Dinosaur+Neil
·
· Score: 2
Better yet, a team of Aibos(TM), pulling a sled...
-- "I'm a scientist! I don't think, I observe!" - Dr. Clayton Forrester
"If the Carnegie Mellon group finds a meteorite this year, that would be an achievement," said Ralph Harvey, a geologist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He heads the human team sponsored by NASA that has looked for meteorites in Antarctica for more than 20 years. "The robot is still having a hard time figuring which way is up." - From a Post-Gazette article at http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/19981012 nomad2.asp It found, what... 3 so far? Not bad for a first run.
Re:The first schizophrenic robot???
by
Detritus
·
· Score: 2
You can run almost any operating system on a VME bus system. It's just a question of what operating systems are supported by the vendor of the CPU board. One of the labs that I work in has several VME bus based Windows NT systems.
You may be thinking of the Forth based Open Firmware that is used on some PCI bus cards.
While space exploration sounds like a good idea, there are plenty of areas of Earth that haven't been explored yet. I've heard we know more about space than the Earth's oceans. Exploring the oceans most likely would be cheaper and yield more bang for the buck than NASAs current Mars programs.
This is actually a pretty straightforward computer vision approach. You use two cameras, and, since you've carefully calibrated the cameras and know how far apart they are, you can compute the distortion between the two images pixel by pixel. Since the cameras are in slightly different locations (separated by a fixed baseline and angle of difference), any disparity will be the result of the different angles of view of the two cameras.
One interesting point is that the farther apart the eyes are, the more sensetive the apparatus is. So one way to get better depth perception is to put your eyes out on stalks.
> Nomad is a powerful computing platform. Its size allows all necessary > processing to be performed on the robot. There are four computers on Nomad > during this expedition. Two PCs running Windows NT control the panoramic > camera, perform landmark based navigation, and run the autonomous > classification software. A third computer running Red Hat Linux > coordinates robot navigation and obstacle avoidance with the stereo > cameras and the laser rangefinder. > Finally, a VME processor cage with a Motorola 68060 processor controls > Nomad's real-time processing, such as translation of driving commands > into servo motor movements and the monitoring of all systems on Nomad.
Now, let's introduce the schizo robot!!!
And I wonder what effet it will have to make the robot look through Microsoft-coloured glasses...
(Now, I wonder that OS runs on the 68060)... -- "It's a ligne Maginot-in-the-sky"
Re:The first schizophrenic robot???
by
Soong
·
· Score: 2
(Now, I wonder that OS runs on the 68060).
It runs vxWorks. (Hence the real-time processing, being an RTOS and all.)
Passle of robo projects at CMU
by
oznoid
·
· Score: 2
If you want to look over a bunch of robotics projects at CMU, here's a nice list. It's not complete, but there are a bunch of pictures of robots and links to more info.
Competing Autonomous Robot: The Fundie Special
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 2
Given the sucess of other Autonomous Robots at finding meteorites, The Fundie Special has been launched. Nearly identical to its competitor, it differs in only two lines of code:
Re:Competing Autonomous Robot: The Fundie Special
by
Tau+Zero
·
· Score: 2
Fortunately, that would run afoul of international treaties. --
-- Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
Re:What do you do for power?
by
Tau+Zero
·
· Score: 2
Another possibility would be to grab some ice, melt it, and electrolyze H and O out of it. Use the H for a fuel cell.
This will get you exactly nowhere. Just a hint: look up "conservation of energy".
I wonder of you could make biodegradable blivets?
Things don't biodegrade on the ice sheet; it's too cold for bacteria, and there's no liquid water. Photodegradation is another matter. The researchers pack out their trash (including feces), but they pee on the ice; solar UV breaks the urea down into CO2 and NH3. I suppose you could air-drop solid fuel, like coal or wax, but this still requires someone to fly out frequently. This is not particularly safe even for professionals, and well beyond the capabilities of a group of amateurs (which was my impression of the original idea). --
-- Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
Maybe Nasa should try to land some probes on the Antartic from Earth orbit
Probably be a whole lot easier just to throw the thing out of an airplane. Of course, g, atmospheric density, and delta-atmospheric density, will all be different on Mars than in Antarctica, meaning rate of descent and impact energy will all be different, too.
Does the lander bouncy-ball have any sort of cameras or guidance mechanism? It seems like a drogue chute, a couple of fins and a range-finder could do an awful lot of inexpensive good towards getting the thing to land someplace flat.
"Nomad is a powerful computing platform. Its size allows all necessary processing to be performed on the robot. There are four computers on Nomad during this expedition.... A third computer running Red Hat Linux ..."
"I am Nomad. I am perfect."
"... Two PCs running Windows NT "
"Error! Error! Sterilze error!"
-- "There is no shot you can take that I cannot simply deny." - Ertai, wizard goalie
wow
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 2
this robot can cover a 10' by 10' square a day. at that rate it will be done about the time the sun crashes into the earth.
Think a person on skis. Think a pond skater (the insect, not Tonya Harding on a picnic with friends). It's more to do with surface area/tension (I forget which). The higher the surface area, especially if rolling, not stepping, the less likely it is that this will be the case.
Another example: your home pool. Put a long pole flat on the water (maybe the skimmer) - it'll last a few seconds. Put a large sheet of wood. See how long it lasts... extrapolate.
--
Open Source. Closed Minds. We are Slashdot.
Re:Colleges should work together for...
by
Whyaduck
·
· Score: 2
Check out this site at NASA. It describes a satellite built by undergraduate students at Arizona State University. It was launched successfully on Jan. 27. I belive students could actually register for a class where the lab involved working on the satellite (I'm not sure...I'm EE, not Aerospace). In any case, the numbers are pretty impressive: more than 350 students worked on the program including a substantial number of undergrads. The launch vehicle also boosted a number of projects from other universities into orbit as well.
-- Hello, I must be going. I'm here to say I cannot stay, I must be going.
Check out Nasa's Website, specifically the page on STS-99. The shuttle will be fitted with a large arm, capable of creating high-resolution topographical maps of Earth. The mission is eleven days long and dubbed the "Shuttle Radar Topography Mission".
They mention that one of the motivations for the research is the fact that we currently have better maps of other planets than of our own...
I seem to recall coverage on a legged robot called Dante, which was sent to investigate a volcanic crater in Antarctica. Could you be thinking of that? --
-- Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
It can't get stranded in snow, because there's no snow there. Just ice. Nomad is running in an area where the ice is actually evaporating; if snow was accumulating, the meteorites would be buried and thus extremely difficult to detect. The beauty of the conditions where Nomad (and other Antarctic meteorite hunters) operate is that the sublimation of the ice sheet exposes all the things which have fallen onto it over the hundreds of miles and thousands of years before. The ice flows like a river and brings everything to that one area, like streams washing gold dust into every crevice in the stream bed. To a meteoriticist, this is just like panning for gold --
-- Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
in case you have ever wondered
by
Laplace
·
· Score: 2
fyi
meteoroid: a rock from from space that is in space
meteor: a rock from space that is in the atmosphere
meteorite: a rock from space that has landed on the earth
Colleges should work together for...
by
MicroBerto
·
· Score: 2
The amount of research done by colleges always impresses me, but one thing I've noticed is that they're really never doing anythign up in space. I think colleges could possibly link up and actually get something done out there in conjunction with NASA. Would it not be a nice step towards more space exploration? Colleges know mucho!
And back to the article... wouldnt' this be a perfect place to put a super-overclocked processor in the robot?:) - Mike Roberto -- roberto@apk.net --- AOL IM: MicroBerto
The Smithsonian magazine had a very nice article about Mark Tilden and the "chaotic" robots that he makes at Los Alamos. These robots are called generally refered to as BEAM (Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, Mechanics). They are relatively simple in design and are made of parts that can be easily purchased. But the nice thing about them is that can exhibit learning capabilities and seem like they are alive.
If you have some spare change, then check out Solarbotics. If you want to build one from scratch, then go to some search engine, and search for Mark Tilden (that should get you going). So get out your soldering iron and electrical tape, and get to work making your very own robot.
What do you do for power?
by
Tau+Zero
·
· Score: 2
There's just one thing left: find someone to go to the probe every so often, and fill it up with gas. (Nomad is gasoline-powered and cruises at about 1 MPH.)
There might be alternatives. There's a reasonable amount of wind on Antarctica, and enough sunlight during the summer months that the meteorite hunters who camp out there use solar panels to charge their laptop batteries. Running a mobile probe off this might be challenge, though. Unlike the gas-powered version you have a much smaller power supply, no waste heat for thermal control, and a host of other added constraints. Anyone trying to do this would have their work cut out for them. --
-- Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
Limitations of autonomous robots demonstrated
by
Goonie
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· Score: 2
This is a good example of the limitations of autonomous robots in natural terrain. While things have improved from 20 years ago, where mobile robots were first tried, it's still pathetic compared to what a pair of geologists with appropriate transport could do.
While research into mobile robots is very valuable stuff, you're still going to need people if you want to do real exploration on bodies out of radio range of Earth.
--
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo --Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
Glad to see NASA funding this
by
joshv
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· Score: 4
This stuff is great - it will lead to the sort of technology we will need to allow autonomous robots to explore other planetary bodies, such as Mars or the Moon, but if it breaks down we can just walk up to it and figure out what broke. We can work out the kinks here where we can fix it.
Maybe Nasa should try to land some probes on the Antartic from Earth orbit, while simulating the kinds of communications delays we have with a distant probe. Seems like it would be a lot cheaper, and we would learn a heck of a lot more even if the mission failed. One of the biggest problems with the recent Mars mission is that we have no idea what went wrong. If we did it might have been worth the $165 million we blew, at least we would not make the same mistake twice.
-josh
For more "Robot" Information - general robotics.
by
tidepool
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· Score: 2
NASA Scientists today unveiled a robot designed to find a date for lonely NASA Scientists.
"Quite simply, the robot first searches for certain characteristics," said NASA researcher Jason Godfrey. The robot locates candidates based on a number of factors, including "nice legs, large breasts and what we technically refer to as a 'hot ass'".
Once a viable candidate is identified, the robot moves in for a much closer look.
"First, the robot takes a photo using a special stereoscopic camera and relays back to base. This allows us to filter out unsavory characteristics like too-large noses, unibrows and pimples." Godfrey continued, "if a candidate passes this test, it is further studied for compatibility," including hobbies, interests and ability to perform the Vulcan 'Live Long & Prosper' hand sign. It also attempts to collect information, such as name, weight, and phone number.
Although the robot is capable of parsing up to three blocks of downtown bar area per hour, the robot has yet to locate a single candidate which worked out. "Our most promising subject turned out to be a total bitch," said Godfrey, based on the fact that she gave a "fake-o phone number".
----
-- Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Re:A thought (unfortunately offtopic)
by
pq
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· Score: 2
The problem was money: NASA couldn't afford the extra $5 million. Think about that - for less than the cost of a minute of SuperBowl advertising, we would have known exactly what went wrong - all we needed was an omnidirectional transmitter with its own power supply (and the weight penalty would have added the $5 mil). Oh well - maybe next time Congress will allow a few more dollars. Face it - this is rocket science, and it doesn't come cheap.
-- "I will take the Ring," he said, "though I do not know the way."
check this out....
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 2
And I quote: "Nomad is a powerful computing platform. Its size allows all necessary processing to be performed on the robot. There are four computers on Nomad during this expedition. Two PCs running Windows NT control the panoramic camera, perform landmark based navigation, and run the autonomous classification software. A third computer running Red Hat Linux coordinates robot navigation and obstacle avoidance with the stereo cameras and the laser rangefinder. Finally, a VME processor cage with a Motorola 68060 processor controls Nomad's real-time processing, such as translation of driving commands into servo motor movements and the monitoring of all systems on Nomad."
Hmmm... how do they reboot the NT boxes when they BSOD? *grins*
Re:check this out....
by
Captain+Zion
·
· Score: 4
Two PCs running Windows NT control the panoramic camera, perform landmark based navigation, and run the autonomous classification software.
Humm... here's another quote from the page: "Between January 22 and January 26 Nomad autonomously found and correctly classified in-situ 3 indigenous meteorites. Nomad also found but incorrectly classified a fourth meteorite as terrestrial rock.":) The page also states that Nomad classified meteorite #12322 as "interesting". I wonder if others are classified as "funny" or "troll"...
There's a fair amount of information about an earlier expedition with the Nomad robot in the Atacama Desert (including archives of some images from and of it) at http://img.arc.nasa.gov/Nomad/nomad.html
Does anyone else remember a NOVA special on this robot? Or was it about one of the many previous robots from Carnegie Mellon?
There was an article on the front page of the Science Times of the New York Times a few weeks ago. The link can be found here. The robot is very cool. And what is really cool is that they allow undergrads to help work on it too.
"A highly sophisticated, rather delicate, very ingenious robot that is a credit to its developers and a triumph of Human ingenuity is being tested in the antarctic"
"It was transported there with great care by a number of highly skilled scientists and engineers, who will monitor its every step with loving care."
"Then we'll stuff it on the top of a rocket, do our level best to shake it to bits on launch, expose it to unimaginably rapid changes in temperature and leave it alone for 9-12 months"
"Once we're bored with that, we'll plunge it into the atmosphere of a small planet, allow it to hit the ground in way that will make it lucky not to leave a significant crater. Then, whatever happens, we'll spend the next several months bombarding it with incredibly faint radio signals, just to see what happens. Either way, we're going to need more funding."
Apologies. This is capable of being one of the peaks of human endeavour. But I'm glad I'm not the robot.
Slashdot Mirror
Given that off-the-shelf components are relatively cheap, it strikes me that it would be feasible to cobble together an open source rover for exploration of remote areas. Cameras and sensors are cheap. A ham radio satellite link can be used for communication. Just get someone to take the rover along on an Antarctic resupply mission (I live right by the company that supports the Antarctic research stations - I could talk to someone there), set it down and let 'er go. Even if no valuable data is gained from the project, it would at least be fun. And we all know that's the most important thing anyway.
;) Make something small and relatively self-sufficient, and you could buy some space on the shuttle or an Arianne rocket. That's how hams get their satellites up. I think it would be WAY cool to have our own, cheap orbiting web cam :)
Heck, this could even lead to amateur-built, open source space probes
-Vercingetorix
"Necessitas non habet legem." -St. Augustine
A bunch of penguins programmed to create the perfect OS find the damaged NOMAD and attempt to repair the programming of it. They redesign it to look for the perfect operating system and steralize all those that are not perfect.
When NOMAD finds the imperfect OS'es Win9x and Win2K as well as MacOS and steralizes them. Captain Gatesvolds of the USS Blue Screen is sent to find out why his creations were destroyed. He uploads NOMAD onto the Blue Screen and NOMAD mistakes him for the creator. SpJobs, Gatesvolds first officer does a mind meld with NOMAD and finds out that the creator was Torvalds. NOMAD then erases the memory of SAM and kills unit Registry because it sees that they are not perfect. Gatesvolds tells NOMAD that he is the creator and that he is not perfect so NOMAD should destroy itself but NOMAD is too smart for Gatesvolds and kills him too because he wears unstylish glasses and is obviously not perfect. NOMAD then destroys the USS Blue Screen and goes in search of his perfect creator Torvalds and his first officer Cox on board the USS-Kernel Panic. NOMAD becomes a little more human when Torvalds tells him that Linux is not perfect but sharing is a lot more fun than hoarding.
The End...
FOR NOW...BUM BUM BUM...
(B) + (D) + (B) + (D) = (K) + (&)
Better yet, a team of Aibos(TM), pulling a sled...
"I'm a scientist! I don't think, I observe!" - Dr. Clayton Forrester
"If the Carnegie Mellon group finds a meteorite this year, that would be an achievement," said Ralph Harvey, a geologist at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He heads the human team sponsored by NASA that has looked for meteorites in Antarctica for more than 20 years. "The robot is still having a hard time figuring which way is up." - From a Post-Gazette article at http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/19981012 nomad2.asp It found, what... 3 so far? Not bad for a first run.
You may be thinking of the Forth based Open Firmware that is used on some PCI bus cards.
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
I'd like to see an Aibo lead an expedition to the south pole.
While space exploration sounds like a good idea, there are plenty of areas of Earth that haven't been explored yet. I've heard we know more about space than the Earth's oceans. Exploring the oceans most likely would be cheaper and yield more bang for the buck than NASAs current Mars programs.
The search engine companies are missing a nice opportunity to sponsor nomad. That would make an ideal ad :)
One interesting point is that the farther apart the eyes are, the more sensetive the apparatus is. So one way to get better depth perception is to put your eyes out on stalks.
Here is a paper on fast stereo vision.
(seen on the p age describing the robot) :
> Nomad is a powerful computing platform. Its size allows all necessary
> processing to be performed on the robot. There are four computers on Nomad
> during this expedition. Two PCs running Windows NT control the panoramic
> camera, perform landmark based navigation, and run the autonomous
> classification software. A third computer running Red Hat Linux
> coordinates robot navigation and obstacle avoidance with the stereo
> cameras and the laser rangefinder.
> Finally, a VME processor cage with a Motorola 68060 processor controls
> Nomad's real-time processing, such as translation of driving commands
> into servo motor movements and the monitoring of all systems on Nomad.
Now, let's introduce the schizo robot!!!
And I wonder what effet it will have to make the robot look through Microsoft-coloured glasses...
(Now, I wonder that OS runs on the 68060)...
--
" It's a ligne Maginot-in-the-sky "
If you want to look over a bunch of robotics projects at CMU, here's a nice list. It's not complete, but there are a bunch of pictures of robots and links to more info.
Given the sucess of other Autonomous Robots at finding meteorites, The Fundie Special has been launched. Nearly identical to its competitor, it differs in only two lines of code:
if(object == meteor && containsFossils(object))
destroyObject(object);
--
Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
Probably be a whole lot easier just to throw the thing out of an airplane. Of course, g, atmospheric density, and delta-atmospheric density, will all be different on Mars than in Antarctica, meaning rate of descent and impact energy will all be different, too.
Does the lander bouncy-ball have any sort of cameras or guidance mechanism? It seems like a drogue chute, a couple of fins and a range-finder could do an awful lot of inexpensive good towards getting the thing to land someplace flat.
--
This is not my sandwich.
"I am Nomad. I am perfect."
"... Two PCs running Windows NT "
"Error! Error! Sterilze error!"
"There is no shot you can take that I cannot simply deny." - Ertai, wizard goalie
this robot can cover a 10' by 10' square a day. at that rate it will be done about the time the sun crashes into the earth.
Another example: your home pool. Put a long pole flat on the water (maybe the skimmer) - it'll last a few seconds. Put a large sheet of wood. See how long it lasts... extrapolate.
Open Source. Closed Minds. We are Slashdot.
Check out this site at NASA. It describes a satellite built by undergraduate students at Arizona State University. It was launched successfully on Jan. 27. I belive students could actually register for a class where the lab involved working on the satellite (I'm not sure...I'm EE, not Aerospace). In any case, the numbers are pretty impressive: more than 350 students worked on the program including a substantial number of undergrads. The launch vehicle also boosted a number of projects from other universities into orbit as well.
Hello, I must be going. I'm here to say I cannot stay, I must be going.
Check out Nasa's Website, specifically the page on STS-99. The shuttle will be fitted with a large arm, capable of creating high-resolution topographical maps of Earth. The mission is eleven days long and dubbed the "Shuttle Radar Topography Mission".
They mention that one of the motivations for the research is the fact that we currently have better maps of other planets than of our own...
I seem to recall coverage on a legged robot called Dante, which was sent to investigate a volcanic crater in Antarctica. Could you be thinking of that?
--
Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
It can't get stranded in snow, because there's no snow there. Just ice. Nomad is running in an area where the ice is actually evaporating; if snow was accumulating, the meteorites would be buried and thus extremely difficult to detect. The beauty of the conditions where Nomad (and other Antarctic meteorite hunters) operate is that the sublimation of the ice sheet exposes all the things which have fallen onto it over the hundreds of miles and thousands of years before. The ice flows like a river and brings everything to that one area, like streams washing gold dust into every crevice in the stream bed. To a meteoriticist, this is just like panning for gold
--
Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
meteoroid: a rock from from space that is in space
meteor: a rock from space that is in the atmosphere
meteorite: a rock from space that has landed on the earth
Laplace
The middle mind speaks!
...better names for these robots?
Mars: Sojourner
Antarctica: Nomad
We get the point already!
What about R2-D2? Or maybe Annihilator 9000? Ultron? Daneel Olivaw?
-----------------------
To understand recursion, one must first understand recursion.
Here is the official website for the expedition.
Pablo Nevares, "the freshmaker".
Pablo Nevares, "the freshmaker".
The amount of research done by colleges always impresses me, but one thing I've noticed is that they're really never doing anythign up in space. I think colleges could possibly link up and actually get something done out there in conjunction with NASA. Would it not be a nice step towards more space exploration? Colleges know mucho!
:)
And back to the article... wouldnt' this be a perfect place to put a super-overclocked processor in the robot?
- Mike Roberto
-- roberto@apk.net
--- AOL IM: MicroBerto
Berto
If you have some spare change, then check out Solarbotics. If you want to build one from scratch, then go to some search engine, and search for Mark Tilden (that should get you going). So get out your soldering iron and electrical tape, and get to work making your very own robot.
There might be alternatives. There's a reasonable amount of wind on Antarctica, and enough sunlight during the summer months that the meteorite hunters who camp out there use solar panels to charge their laptop batteries. Running a mobile probe off this might be challenge, though. Unlike the gas-powered version you have a much smaller power supply, no waste heat for thermal control, and a host of other added constraints. Anyone trying to do this would have their work cut out for them.
--
Time is Nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once... the bitch.
While research into mobile robots is very valuable stuff, you're still going to need people if you want to do real exploration on bodies out of radio range of Earth.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a rigged demo
--Andy Finkel (J. Klass?)
This stuff is great - it will lead to the sort of technology we will need to allow autonomous robots to explore other planetary bodies, such as Mars or the Moon, but if it breaks down we can just walk up to it and figure out what broke.
We can work out the kinks here where we can fix it.
Maybe Nasa should try to land some probes on the Antartic from Earth orbit, while simulating the kinds of communications delays we have with a distant probe. Seems like it would be a lot cheaper, and we would learn a heck of a lot more even if the mission failed. One of the biggest problems with the recent Mars mission is that we have no idea what went wrong. If we did it might have been worth the $165 million we blew, at least we would not make the same mistake twice.
-josh
This is _semi_ related. For more information on Robots in the news, check some of the below links:
CNN - Second robot to work on recovery of EgyptAir 'black boxes' - November 8,
Biped robot research in the world
Enjoy.
Ben Brewer
brewer@nullified.org
"Quite simply, the robot first searches for certain characteristics," said NASA researcher Jason Godfrey. The robot locates candidates based on a number of factors, including "nice legs, large breasts and what we technically refer to as a 'hot ass'".
Once a viable candidate is identified, the robot moves in for a much closer look.
"First, the robot takes a photo using a special stereoscopic camera and relays back to base. This allows us to filter out unsavory characteristics like too-large noses, unibrows and pimples." Godfrey continued, "if a candidate passes this test, it is further studied for compatibility," including hobbies, interests and ability to perform the Vulcan 'Live Long & Prosper' hand sign. It also attempts to collect information, such as name, weight, and phone number.
Although the robot is capable of parsing up to three blocks of downtown bar area per hour, the robot has yet to locate a single candidate which worked out. "Our most promising subject turned out to be a total bitch," said Godfrey, based on the fact that she gave a "fake-o phone number".
----
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Face it - this is rocket science, and it doesn't come cheap.
"I will take the Ring," he said, "though I do not know the way."
Hmmm... how do they reboot the NT boxes when they BSOD? *grins*
There's a fair amount of information about an earlier expedition with the Nomad robot in the Atacama Desert (including archives of some images from and of it) at http://img.arc.nasa.gov/Nomad/nomad.html
Does anyone else remember a NOVA special on this robot? Or was it about one of the many previous robots from Carnegie Mellon?
There was an article on the front page of the Science Times of the New York Times a few weeks ago. The link can be found here. The robot is very cool. And what is really cool is that they allow undergrads to help work on it too.
Oh, for that go here
Even includes pictures of microscopic interstellar life, err, rock.
+&x
"A highly sophisticated, rather delicate, very ingenious robot that is a credit to its developers and a triumph of Human ingenuity is being tested in the antarctic"
"It was transported there with great care by a number of highly skilled scientists and engineers, who will monitor its every step with loving care."
"Then we'll stuff it on the top of a rocket, do our level best to shake it to bits on launch, expose it to unimaginably rapid changes in temperature and leave it alone for 9-12 months"
"Once we're bored with that, we'll plunge it into the atmosphere of a small planet, allow it to hit the ground in way that will make it lucky not to leave a significant crater. Then, whatever happens, we'll spend the next several months bombarding it with incredibly faint radio signals, just to see what happens. Either way, we're going to need more funding."
Apologies. This is capable of being one of the peaks of human endeavour. But I'm glad I'm not the robot.