Among the heroes of 9/11 would be the brave firefighters who did not think much of their own safety, and ultimately, lives, as they worked tirelessly to search for survivors among the carnage. Well, firefighting is definitely far from being the safest job in the world (you might want to remain stuck behind a cubicle for that), but it is also a whole lot more exciting than processing documents and answering phone calls. The thing is, additional help is always more than welcome, which is where the Thermite firefighting robot comes in handy.
The Thermite tank hails from Howe and Howe Technologies of Maine, where it will be attached to a base modular robotic platform in order to get around obstacles, traverse rough terrain and climb stairs. Not only that, the Thermite robot will feature a multidirectional nozzle which is capable of sending up to 600 gallons of firefighting fluid in a single minute, now how about that? Anyone wants to dispute the claim of the Thermite being the “world’s first firefighting robot”? It is not autonomous, and will be controlled by a human within a quarter mile radius. What’s the $96,000 asking price as compared to a precious life?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Tosy mRobo dancing robot, Naro-Tartaruga robot sea turtle,
It seems that many aspects of life are being shaped or influenced by the world of robotics, and this time around, we have a sea turtle-inspired robot known as the Naro-Tartaruga, which is the brainchild of researchers at ETH-Zurich. One of the reasons the Naro-Tartaruga is based on the sea turtle would be due to the creatures’ rigid bodies which are technically easier to copy compared to that of fish. Apart from that, with a relatively generous torso, there is more than ample space to pack on an adequate supply of sensor and batteries so that the life of an autonomous robot turtle is very possible. I don’t think that sharks would want to take a bite out of this unwieldy looking robot though.
[CEATEC 2012] If there is one challenging thing about programming the hand of a robot, it would be the artificial intelligence required for it to figure out just the right amount of pressure to apply to say, an egg, or when it is holding a child, or the frail arm of an elderly person, as opposed to a piece of iron or an axe that it wants to swing around. Well, researchers might have broken new ground with their latest robot that is on display at CEATEC in Tokyo, Japan this year, where this new robot is touted to replicate the brush strokes of master painters and calligraphers.
Being a police is not an easy job, especially when the crime rate around you is soaring and your department does not have the budget to go up against the bad guys. Well, perhaps your head of department might want to check out what AeroVironment has in store for the force, rolling out small surveillance drones which are tiny enough to fit in a police cruiser’s trunk. These tiny, unmanned military drones could help local police officials in surveillance work, tipping the scales at just five pounds while measuring three feet in length. Not only that, it is full well capable of taking to the skies and flying as high as 500 feet, having enough juice to remain airborne for up to 40 minutes.
Yes, we do know that there are several versions of the Iron Man suit by playboy-billionaire Tony Stark, but make no mistake about it, the Robotboat Mark VI is by no means a suit that is worn by a human which will make up part of the Avengers. Rather, this is a robotic boat (as though you cannot tell by its name already) that is powered by solar energy panels so that it needs not stop by for any refueling activity, and in order to have it arrive at the intended destination, all it uses are a wing sail as well as an assistive electric propulsion system. Not only that, the Robotboat Mark VI will also come with a self-righting mechanism so that it will always remain afloat as far as possible in far off waters, pinging back the “command center” so to speak with data for near indefinite periods of time.
