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Insect Robots For Mars Exploration
destructor writes "Thanks to these guys, I found this little robotic article. Aided by NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts, flying insect robots are looking at a life on our "little red planet", Mars in order to procure some atmospheric information and samples. Since conventional aircraft are unable to precisely navigate the Mars surface due to very thin air qualities, the robots actually have the ability to "move only their wings rapidly - while the body flies slowly", to ease sample collections." Space.com is carrying a piece on this.
Their wings were developed for the Maritan Atmosphere, not earths.
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
Anyone interested in 'insect-like' robots will want to do some reading on "B.E.A.M. Robotics", B.E.A.M. stands for Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics. Bascially, it is the idea, codified by Mark Tilden (linus to beam roboticists (sp?)) that says that roboticists (sp?) should start by building/adapting simple autonimous robots, capable of small tasks. Each successive robot (the next one you build) should be slightly better. If we continue this (un?)natural evolution we should come up with life-like machines. Simple. Elegant. Capable.
See this Google search to start: http://www.google.com/search?q=beam+robotics
To we the appetite, here is a small gallery of Tilden's bots.
Since nobody else pointed this out, I will. This was suggested in an Episode (season 3) of the X-files. In the episode, a scientist theorized that explorations like a Mars expedition would be conducted by robots, and that creating robots to mimic insects was much more practical than making them mimic humans.
The episode further suggests that in fact this is how alien civilisations are exploring our planet.
No they haven't. AFAIK, all crafts that succeded in landing on the surface performed well beyond their design. Mars was russians nightmare, they send countless probes, and none (or a few) got there. States has only two major failures with crafts bound to Mars, it is just that those two were the last two missions to Mars.
Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the War Room!
The X-Plane web site has a description of some of the problems of conventional (non-flapping) flight on Mars. They also have flight models to allow simulation of flight. (However, the propulsion is a little unrealistic; maybe "muscles" would work better.)
If it isn't true, don't say it. If it isn't helpful, don't say it. If it's true and helpful, wait for the right time.
Also, why don't we do these robot things on the moon first...
Because it would be rather hard for these things to function on the moon, seeing as it has no atmosphere.
We're going to make information free Mr. Anderson, whether you like it, or not.
"The trouble with the rovers is that they land in one spot and are very limited in the extent to which they can explore," says Robert Michelson, principal research engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and lead developer of the Entomopter design. "It's frustrating to be looking through the camera of a rover and wonder what might be on the other side of the next ridge. If we could get a vehicle that could fly over that ridge, we could do surveys much more efficiently."
Ofcourse "no problems except visibility" is a bit off the mark. There would be many problems with loss communication, static, dust seeping in the suits and possibly breathing apparatus, mechanical failures of instruments due to dust accumulation, unavaliability of air transorts etc. Let me put it this way, there is practically no difference between a 200kph martian storm and a 500kph one for someone on Martian surface.
Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the War Room!
One question: how will the air be heated? On Earth, all we have to do is strike a match because Earth has oxygen. Mars has very little, if any, oxygen. Oxygen is a prerequisite for something to combust, as it said in the article.
Also, someone else in this thread made a very good point-- the temperature varies way too much for a blimp to be feasible. It would explode-- or, on the other hand, the air pressure would decrease so much that the balloon part of the blimp (I know there is a special term for that part-- anyone know what it is, by any chance?) would essentially deflate.
BTW, they have tested the entomopter. Every couple of monthes the Discovery Channel runs a show that has a bit about the entomopter. It's due to air pretty soon, I think. (My dad is addicted to Discovery, TLC, & the History Channel; he watches the show about the entomopter every time it comes on. (oy!)) But anyway, it's not like the people at GIT have only tested it on computer models; they just can't test a full-sized model with a full payload-- it would quite literally crash-and-burn. Oh yeah, now I remember-- the show is about mini-aircraft in general, and the bulk of the show is specifically about mini-spycraft. Some of the things the CIA has in the works are really fascinating :)
Balloons. Whats wrong with having a computer-controlled balloon with a cannister of hydrogen or helium beneath it?
Research is going on in this area. For example, a proposal from a Texas Uni is here: www.tsgc.utexas.edu/tadp/2001/tcu.pdf. It's not a trivial problem - the air's a lot thinner on Mars, so a Mars balloon would need to be v. similar to a high-altitude balloon on earth.
If not balloons, why not use spring-loaded "grasshoppers" ?
ANd for this one, see here - http://www.beyond2000.com/news/Nov_00/story_900.ht ml
Sure, brainless observers & reporters arent nearly as glamorous as FLYING ROBOT INSECTS, but Mars exploration isnt about being able to license the design to Matchbox to sell miniatures of your invention to kids. Its about getting the job done as cheaply and reliably as possible.
Well, when you're trying to get funding, and when you want publicity (hell, who doesn't) being glamorous IS important. Unfortunately, this is what led to years of AI researchers talking about how their computers were going to be smarter than humans oh... any day now. Believing your own hype is a classic AI disease.
And in the research field, you've gotta have your own angle, otherwise no-one will pay attention. On the good side, this leads to people trying out wild and crazy ideas about flapping wing robots (and off-the-wall ideas that end up working). On the down side, it leads to no end Academic Bitchfighting over whose idea is better.
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