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Robotic Inchworm Drill for Mars, Europa

Posted by Hemos on from the is-kevin-bacon-involved? dept.

Erik Baard writes " The NY Times (reg. blah) is currently an article on robotic inchworm drills. NASA is funding Honeybee Robotics' R&D to create an inchworming "underground rover" based in part on a steam pipe welding machine the company built for Con Ed (called the WISER). The autonomous robot (scroll here to the Inchworm Deep Drilling System -- http://www.honeybeerobotics.com/sample.htm) would reach *kilometers* into Mars or Jupiter's moon, Europa, where scientists expect to find liquid water, and just possibly, life. Other drill designs could go perhaps a meter down. The inchworm could either gnaw its way back to the surface, or lay a series of radio relay stations ("bread crumbs") to pass the data signal to an amplifier on the surface to communicate with Earth. Yeah, I'm a regular /.er. And yeah, the NYT online spelled my name wrong."

11 of 134 comments (clear)

  1. Yeah by l33t+j03 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    How about some more anime news you imbeciles. Ignorant geeks love that crap.

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    Cunning linguists

  2. Sloshdoot spolling orrer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    Inchworm Deep Drillig System
    Is Lessig involved with this Drillig project?
  3. Ugh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    I shudder at the thought of thousands of slashdotters everywhere drilling with their inchworms...

  4. Re:honeybeer obotics? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Honey, be erotic?

  5. Re:honeybeer obotics? by Merlin42 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    honey beer ... wouldn't that be mead?!? Well, I guess that would technically be honey wine, but hey its close enough.

    --
    Thoughts on tech, Software Engineering, and stuff
  6. Hi, my name is by akiaki007 · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Akshay and I'm from Got Milk? Where are you from?

    Anyone else find that really funny?

    --
    "Time is long and life is short, so begin to live while you still can." -EV
  7. parent funny by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    mod accordingly

  8. 'Twas drillig, and the slithy toves... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
  9. Not again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Dude, that joke stopped being funny somewhere between the 10,000th and 1,000,000th time somebody used it.

  10. Re:honeybeer obotics? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    No, a true mead does not include malt.

    A honey beer is technically called a "braggot".

  11. Re:honeybeer obotics? by benson+hedges · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    honeybeer is what the old vikings called met. a strong alcoholic drink made from honey. but what that has to do with robotics is beyond me.

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    Karma : Soylent Green (Mostly due to eating junk food and mocking religion)