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Projectile ReconBots

Posted by michael on from the more-robots-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at dept.

mtDNA writes " Dr. Dobb's TechNetCast has a feature on ReconBots designed by Nikos Papanikolopoulos's lab. The bots are organized into teams. Each team is led by a large, controlling "Ranger" bot (running Linux) and supported by several tin-can-sized, cylindrical "Scout" bots. The Ranger disperses the scouts with a launcher that can shoot them up to seventy feet. After that, the scouts roam around sending back video, sound and other data. The scouts are 40mm cylinders specifically so they can be launched from a 40mm grenade launcher! The full story, including video of the scouts getting launched, is here." The story is from April 2000 but it doesn't seem that we ran it at the time.

3 of 29 comments (clear)

  1. so i'm lazy by Master+of+Oblivion · · Score: 3

    It seems that I was to lazy to elaborate on my previous comment, so here. Imagine these "scouts" as controlers for a certain number of nanobots. each of these controlers has a specific purpose, set to it by the ranger. The ranger is contoled by an adaptive neural net (it can recompile itself)and is given the purpose "better yourself". The scouts, in addition to their minions of nanobots, each have certain sensors or data manipultion/access tools and a means of returning to the ranger, and use the nanobots to aid them in collecting information or resources that the scout, and ultimantly, the ranger, require. Put the whole system into a controled environment, and then see what happens.

    --
    "Umk. So maybe it was a stupid plan after all." -God to his angels, just after creating the universe
  2. Another video link. by mtDNA · · Score: 4



    It looks like Dr. Dobb's is slashdotted already.

    There's another movie on Papanikolopoulos's homepage: http://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~npapas

    --


    If you watch TV news, you know less about the world than if you just drank gin straight from the bottle.
  3. I'm working with these things by Calcbert · · Score: 5

    I've just recently started helping with this research project at the U of MN, and I must say that the little scout robots are pretty damn sweet.

    Some other cool things (that you may have read on the various sites, but I thought I'd say them anyway) and notes about them:

    • They can jump with the help of a spring 'foot.'
    • They each carry a black and white camera to send video to the controlling ranger.
    • There's also a scout that has a camera that pops out of the tube and can pan and tilt. Check the Demos Page for videos showing this and other features.
    • For testing and demonstration, the scouts can be driven around with a Palm Pilot hooked up to a transmitter.
    • A PIC chip is used as the processor for the scout.
    • Need to get a scout through a window? No problem. The ranger can shoot scouts through glass (see the end of the first video from the Demos Page.