Robytes
(pilot and sensor operator). But at
least they sit at a remotely located
ground control station.
“Tuabot” Aids Breeding
Research
Eurobot Passes Tests
A robotic version of this tuatara will
mimic the real thing to help researchers.
Photo courtesy of Ohio University
Research ( www.research.ohiou.edu).
Eurobot is lowered into the Neutral
Buoyancy Facility for operational
concept testing. Photo courtesy of ESA.
Under development since 2003 by
the European Space Agency (ESA,
www.esa.int), the multijointed
(seven joints plus one end effector
and camera per arm), three-armed
Eurobot has undergone operational
testing in the Neutral Buoyancy Facility
of the European Astronaut Centre
in Cologne.
In the trials, the wet model
— which is similar in size and
configuration to the planned space
flight model — was checked for its
ability to move and manipulate
objects, provide coordinated multi-arm movement, and recognize
obscured targets. By all accounts, the
tests went very well.
According to Philippe
Schoonejans, the Eurobot project
manager, “Not only has it been
demonstrated that Eurobot can
walk around an orbital station
autonomously and safely, using no
more than the existing EVA handrails,
it is also becoming clear that Eurobot
can really help the astronauts. And
in the next phase, we also plan
to demonstrate its use on a
planetary surface ...”
Meanwhile, down in laid-back
New Zealand’s Stephens Island, a
robotic lizard is helping to preserve
the tuatara species by pretending
to be an available bachelor. The
creatures have been around for 200
million years, so it would seem
that they have this breeding thing
under control. Nevertheless, Victoria
University ( www.vuw.ac.nz) postdoctoral student Jennifer Moore
(actually a Michigan native) wants to
understand how males establish
dominance and attract females. Enter
“Robo-Ollie,” made from a cast of a
recently departed real lizard known
as Oliver.
The rubber-skinned creature runs
off a nickel-cadmium battery and tries
to imitate the aggressive behavior
typical of male tuataras. Ollie can’t
actually walk around, but he can
move his head. He didn’t do all that
well in initial trials, as he just bobbed
his head, which turned out to be
a female signal. He was then
reprogrammed to open his mouth and
gape, which apparently irritates other
males to no end. Among real tuatura,
this degenerates into puffing (which
Ollie hasn’t learned yet) and all-out
warfare in which the reptiles often
lose their tails.
About 75 percent of the males
turn out to be lonely losers, and the
other 25 percent get to produce all of
the young. As one might expect, the
winners tend to be the largest
individuals, some of which can be
90 years old. Moore suspects that
smell could play a role in the mating
process, so research continues. SV
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