Servo - October 2010

www.servomagazine.com/index.php?/magazine/article/october2010_Robytes

Now, research has shown that if the water is no warmer than about 70°F ( 21°C) and the souse is dragged out within 90 minutes, he has a good chance of being revived. Fortunately, the Derbyshire crew is usually able to reach a potential victim in as little as 10 minutes. The problem is that because of strong currents and near-zero visibility they can’t locate the bodies soon enough. SARbot solves the problem by incorporating a Gemini imaging sonar system, bright LED illumination, and video enhancement. It also features a set of jaws that clamp onto the individual’s arm or leg to allow personnel to drag him back to shore. In field trials, it was shown that the ROV system can be deployed in less than three minutes, so we can expect that, over time, many otherwise doomed, ale-soaked Brits will live to see another opening time. I’ll certainly drink to that.

Bot Swings Its Way to the Top

One of the few gymnastic exercises yours truly was ever good at is rope climbing which actually requires very little strength if you simply swing back and forth, and grab a higher place on the rope with each oscillation. Now, some engineers at the University of Utah ( www.utah.edu) have employed the same concept in creating the ROCR Oscillating Climbing Robot. As described in a recent issue of

Transactions on Mechatronics, the device uses two claws, a motor, and a pendulum-like tail to crawl up an eight-foot carpeted wall in a little over 15 seconds. According to designer William Provancher, most climbing robots are designed primarily to avoid falling, and efficiency (i.e., ratio of work performed to the electrical energy consumed) is not a major consideration. ROCR, on the other hand, achieved 20 percent efficiency in climbing tests which is nearly as good as an automobile engine. Because the world doesn’t contain all that many carpeted walls, ROCR probably

Mechanical engineer William Provancher watches ROCR climb a carpeted wall. Photo by Mark Fehlberg, University of Utah.

doesn’t have much practical use. However, future work will be aimed at integrating more complex gripping mechanisms so it can also climb on such substances as brick and sandstone, as well as boosting efficiency. According to Provancher, “Higher climbing efficiencies will extend the battery life of a self-contained, autonomous robot and expand the variety of tasks the robot can perform.”

Bot Exoskeleton Eliminates Wheelchairs

In the early 1990s, engineers Richard Little and Robert Irving, for some unspecified reason, left their native Scotland and emigrated to New Zealand. Because both of their mothers use wheelchairs, they had a working knowledge of the related issues and obstacles. Then, when Irving was diagnosed with MS about seven years ago, they decided to put their expertise to work to develop a better alternative. With support from a couple venture capital firms, they formed Rex Bionics ( www.rexbionics.com) and developed the Rex Robotic Exoskeleton which is basically a pair of legs that allow the wearer to stand, walk, go up and down stairs, and so on via a joystick control. This is not a simple thing to accomplish; in fact,

4,700+ parts go into the package. According to neurologist Dr. Richard Roxburgh, "For many of my patients, Rex represents the first time they've been able to stand up and walk for years. There are obvious immediate benefits in terms of mobility, improved social interaction, and self-image. There are also likely to be major long-term health and quality of life benefits through reducing the complications of being in a wheelchair all the time." After the company concludes required testing, it will be marketed initially in Europe and Australia. FDA approval for US sales will come later.