Servo - November 2011

Robytes by Jeff and Jenn Eckert

Whirlybot Imitates Maple Seed

Most of us remember sitting under a maple tree and watching the little whirlybird seeds — technically called "samaras" — spinning around as they drifted to earth. The associated aerodynamic principles have now been applied by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Laboratories ( www.atl.lmco.com) to a new UAV. Demonstrated at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International Conference this summer, the "Samarai" is a vertical takeoff and landing device that provides stable hovering and on-board video streaming — all from a package that weighs less than half a pound and has only two moving parts. According to the company, the design is scalable, allowing it to be used for a variety of missions, including surveillance and reconnaissance and payload delivery. Because it is produced via 3-D printing, there are no expensive production costs. The Samarai can be controlled using a dedicated remote or even with an app on a tablet computer. Lockheed didn't mention it, but the 16 in ( 41 cm) flyer looks suspiciously similar to one developed at the University of Maryland's Autonomous Vehicle Laboratory ( www.avl.umd.edu) and called "Samara." Presumably, they've worked something out with regard to the university's pending patents on the design. You can see the vid at www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8FBDFJ1cbk.

New Lockheed Martin UAV spins up (and down).

UAV Perches On Walls

Another nifty airborne concept has come out of the Biomimetics and Dexterous Manipulation Lab ( bdml.stanford.edu) at Stanford University. One problem with most flying devices used for surveillance is that they use up a lot of power while hovering. But picture a little bird that can fly up to a building, raise its nose in an intentional stall, land vertically on a wall, and hang out there for hours or days in silence, consuming practically no power. Such is the lab's "perching AUV" which eventually could be launched in intercoordinated flocks for a range of observational duties. The key is its feet which are equipped with tiny spines that "engage small asperities on the surface." In this way — using the propeller as required — the flyer can creep along the wall to achieve the best orientation for the desired view. When the mission is completed, it can jump into the air and fly home — ready for the next assignment.

UAV creeps up walls like an insect.

R.I.P. George C. Devol

Sadly, we note that George C. Devol — known as the "father of robotics" — passed away on August 11 at his home in Wilton, CT, at age 99. George held the patent on the first digitally operated programmable robotic arm which became known as the Unimate. The first company to put one to work was General Motors; it was used in an assembly line to remove hot die-cast metal parts from their molds, and to lift and stack them. To see one in action, check out a 1966 episode of the Tonight Show at www.youtube.com/ watch?v=yKo6KMkuVAk. The machine sinks a putt, opens and pours a can of beer, and (sort of) leads the orchestra. Other Devol inventions include the first photoelectric door opener, an early barcode system, early radar and microwave devices, robotic sensors, magnetostrictive manipulators, and even the "Speedy Weeny" — a machine for automatically cooking and vending hot dogs. In May, Devol was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame ( www.invent.org).