Hasta La Gadget!

Finding water on another planet might be hailed by some to be one of the biggest discoveries of mankind, but they are forgetting that it takes far more than just the presence of water to support theories that there is life outside of earth. Well, a spinoff from the Carnegie Mellon University, Astrobotic Technology, has finished building their full-size prototype of a solar-powered robot that was specially designed with just one mission in life – to look for water and ice at the moon’s poles. Known as Polaris, it will carry a drill in order to bore a hole that is one meter deep into the lunar surface, where it will then get to work even in the low-light conditions of the poles.

Touted to be the “first rover developed specifically for drilling lunar ice”, the whole idea of searching for such water would be to look for a potential source that could eventually furnish future expeditions with precious water, fuel and oxygen. A trio of large solar arrays will help keep the Polaris juiced, capturing light from low on the horizon while it continues with its drilling work.

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The Polaris rover may look a little punk rock, but that mohawk is no fashion statement. It’s for catching solar rays which shine almost horizontally at the Moon’s north pole, a location Polaris is due to explore before 2016. Built by Astrobotic Technology, it’ll be ferried aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to our celestial companion, where it’ll drill into the surface in search of ice. The company, spun out of the Carnegie Mellon University, hopes to identify resources at a depth of up to four feet that could be used to support manned Moon expeditions in the future. The plan is to complete the mission during a 10-day window of sunlight, digging at up to 100 sites over a three-mile stretch. However, if it can live through the harsh two-week-long nights, then it may continue to operate “indefinitely.” NASA is backing the project, providing ice-prospecting gear and money, although Astrobotic hopes to get more cash for its work — over $20 million from Google’s Lunar X Prize. Right now, Polaris is a flight prototype and there are still improvements to be made, mainly on the software side, before it tackles the rough terrain. Check out the short video of its public unveiling below, although we don’t think the soundtrack quite matches the hairdo.

Continue reading Polaris rover will travel to the Moon in search of polar resources, try to survive the long lunar night

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Polaris rover will travel to the Moon in search of polar resources, try to survive the long lunar night originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’ve got enough problems with spiders. They just creep me out. I can handle the occasional daddy long-legs or jumping spider, but giant spiders – forget about it. And giant metal robot spiders are the stuff of my worst nightmares.

This particular giant metal robot spider measures almost 7 inches across, and can even play a tune – thanks to the built-in vintage music box on its back. It plays a warbly version of the nursery favorite Frère Jacques, which is sure to add to the creepiness factor as you keep one eyeball on it while you sleep at night.

It was created by Catherinette Rings and Daniel Proulx and can be found over on Etsy for $700(USD). While that may seem like a lot of money for a robot that can’t actually move – it’s a small price to pay to know exactly what your bad dreams will be about for the rest of your days

Sometimes a fire is too dangerous for the fire department. Whether it’s the risk of an explosion, work on a surface that could collapse, or the presence of hazardous chemicals, a firefighter is always vulnerable. Now, when conditions pose too great a risk for a human, we can enlist a tank. A robot tank. The Howe and Howe T2-Thermite. More »

We have seen our fair share of robots in the past, whether they serve alongside soldiers on the battlefield or perform deep sea operations, these are machines that help make our lives a whole lot easier. When it comes to underwater robots however, there is one thing that needs to be taken into consideration – powering them, and making sure they are able to surface in time before they run out of juice. Well, it seems that deep sea stations could eventually be modified to function as a recharge point for underwater robots.

After all, most of these underwater robots have a typical run time of approximately 24 hours thereabouts, and hence this has limited their use somewhat whenever they go “sightseeing” in the domain of Poseidon. Perhaps using deep sea stations as a pit stop of sorts could make sure these robots get more work done underwater instead of making their way to the surface to “refill” their batteries, so to speak. What do you think of this idea? The thing is, repairing such underwater stations could be tricky, and having a repair robot handy makes a whole lot of sense.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Thermite firefighting robot is a world’s first, Tosy mRobo dancing robot,