Servo - December 2013

68 SERVO 12.2013

Few things capture the imagination like robotics. The idea of a robot may conjure up images of everything from giant arms making cars to autonomous Iron Man suits. One other endeavor has the same power as robotics to galvanize the imagination from science fiction to science fact — space.

Both present promises for great adventure, and combining the two is perhaps the greatest adventure of all. Just think of those tenacious rovers Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity, and how those appropriately named robots are the cutting edge of progress and inspiration.

Robotics and space are the perfect combination because nowadays we let robots blaze the trail before we let a person boldly go where none has gone before.

With that in mind, this month we wanted to explore a challenge that sees a robot as the trailblazer into the wild blue yonder — the space elevator.

Cat’s Cradle

Though many anecdotal accounts of apple-falling, head-bopping scientific inspirations may be apocryphal, we were reminded of the space elevator by an unlikely source. Our cat Lida loves to bat around ribbon, and often seems dead set on the idea of pulling it out of our stronger grasp.

When she’s feeling particularly feisty, it’s almost as if she wants to hoist herself onto the ribbon if that is what is necessary to claim victory.

That reminded us of the way that the space elevator problem is often presented at robotics competitions — the challenge to build a ribbon climber.

The space elevator, however, was not actually inspired by a playful feline. The idea for the space elevator was first published by Russian rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky way back in 1895. Tsiolkovsky was initially inspired by the literature of Jules Verne, and his specific inspiration for the space elevator appears to have completed in 1889.

As the tallest structure in the world when it was completed and meant as a testament to humankind’s innovative ability, the Eiffel Tower certainly electrified many imaginations. Tsiolkovsky imagined a structure spanning from the surface of the Earth to the height of geostationary orbit, about 35,790 km. Tsiolkovsky’s inspiration — the Eiffel Tower — reaches a height of only about a third of a kilometer. The problem with Tsiolkovksy’s vision is that it was for a