New Wave of Mini Robots Has Arrived

No name yet for this bot;
see it in the video below ... if you can
image source

Nicholas West

Beyond the economic debate of whether humans will officially be outsourced to robots -- or not (maybe by 2045) -- there is no question that the military-industrial complex loves the idea of creating robots that can serve the battlefield and beyond. Here are some of their current favorites.

• PETMAN humanoid robot
• Sand Flea jumping robot
• Robobee - pollinator/surveillance
• Cryo - robot jellyfish to patrol the oceans
• Cheetah - designed to chase human prey (and now has had a cub)
• Big Dog - Heavy lifting, like throwing cinderblocks, and transport

But, just as with drones, the next phase of miniaturized robot tech is offering some insane possibilities. The video below shows a new bot that Singularity Hub defined as "freaky fast" -- like the equivalent of a human running 120 mph.
As Singularity Hub states:

...researchers from the University of Maryland and John Hopkins have constructed a miniature robot with independent drive motors propelling its four whegs, which are hybrid-wheel-legs that offer the best of both. 

The bot can travel up to 30 body lengths a second (2.2 m/s or around 5 MPH). As IEEE Spectrum points out, a human traveling the equivalent relative distance in the same time would be going approximately 120 MPH.

As miniturization continues right down to the nano-scale, as well as bots and drones that mimic nature, it might become increasingly difficult to see what exactly is coming next.

Source:
http://singularityhub.com/2013/07/05/miniature-freaky-fast-quadruped-robots/

Read other articles by Nicholas West Here

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