Pentagon eyes 'human like' handyman robots: But why?

Get short URL

Published time: April 06, 2012 13:37
Edited time: April 06, 2012 19:25

Humanoid SAFFIR robot (image from http://spectrum.ieee.org)

Tags

Military, Natural disasters, SciTech, USA, War

A US military agency is to announce Grand Challenge for a new generation of humanoid robots to add it to the country’s military arsenal.

Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is turning its attention to legged humanoid robots. According to robotic news portal Hizook, the agency will soon officially announce its new Grand Challenge for a robot able to “operate in an environment built for people and interact with made-for-human tools.”

DARPA wants the androids to be able to drive an open-frame utility vehicle such as a tractor. The task is to get into the driver's seat and drive it to a specified location. Then to get out of the vehicle, maneuver to a locked door, unlock it with a key, open the door, and go inside.

The new androids should be able to climb a ladder, identify a valve and fix it with a valve and perform other handyman repairs, such as locating a broken pipe and replacing it.

The requirements suggest the androids could perform well in future industrial disasters – instead of humans in dangerous environments. That could turn out useful for disasters like meltdown aftermath of Japan's Fukushima nuclear facility.

But some experts already draw parallels with the humanoid SAFFIR (The Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot) robot, which will soon be handling dangerous fire fighting duties on US Navy ships. According to the Naval Research Laboratory, the US military also has set its sights on "other potential warfare applications" in choosing to create a humanoid robot.

DARPA plans to issue contracts for six hardware teams and 12 software teams. It will also permit unpaid teams to enter the contest. If some of the unpaid teams perform better than the paid teams, they will replace the paid contender and begin receiving funding.

DARPA previously held several Grand Challenge events. The first three focused on self-driving cars. In 2004, no winner was declared, and the cash prize was not given as none of the robot vehicles finished the route. A year later five different cars completed the distance.

The third competition took place in 2007. The course involved a 96 km urban area to be completed in less than six hours. Rules included obeying all traffic regulations while negotiating with other traffic and obstacles and merging into traffic. Six teams successfully finished the entire course.

The military agency has also shown a strong interest in legged robots by funding projects such as Boston Dynamics’ four-legged robotic headless mule designed to carry battle gear for US marines. In its first outdoor test, the robot showed how it could follow a person and navigate around trees and rocks while climbing a hill.

One of its other projects is Robot Cheetah, which set a speed record running faster than an average human jogger. That could be of great advantage over the existing battlefield robots on wheels or tank-like treads.

Boston Dynamics robot (image from http://www.botjunkie.com)

Robot Cheetah (image from http://www.designboom.com)

Comments (26)

Anonymous user 28.02.2013 12:06

Haha, no one uses 30-06 anymore except redneck hunters.I don't think they will be hunting these.

Undo

Jesus H (unregistered) 04.12.2012 01:58

Great targets for a 30.06

Undo

ManiacMagic(MM) 26.04.2012 14:41

Horacio wrote in #3
"The US founded billions of dollars to the best engineers of the world to create a ball-pen that works in 0 gravity. The Russians use pencils."

A human is capable of so many things that a robot has to be designed for and will allways lack in comparison to human. The only thing a ciborg is good for is OBIDIENCE. Now, Is it a good thing?
WRONG
This story perfectly illustrates the perils of government waste; pity it's not quite true. NASA didn't have $12 billion to spend on anything when it first started sending astronauts into space in the early 1960s. The agency's entire budget for the 1960 was $500 million; by 1965, it was up to $5.2 billion, still not enough to throw away $12 billion reinventing the ballpoint pen.Be that as it may, beginning with the Apollo program astronauts did begin using a specially-designed zero-gravity pen called the Fisher Space Pen. The nitrogen-pressurized space pen worked in "freezing cold, desert heat, underwater and upside down," as well as in the weightless conditions of outer space.

It was developed not by NASA, however, but by one enterprising individualowner of the Fisher Space Pen Company. By his own account, Fisher spent "thousands of hours and millions of dollars" of his own money in research and development — not billions.The Fisher Space Pen is still used by both American and Russian astronauts on every space flight, and you can even buy one yourself direct from the company for a measly 50 bucks.

Undo

View all comments (26)