• Name

Robots: Mobility 

• What is the item

Researchers are working on improving the mobility of robots so that they can do more and go more places.

• What Horizon is it on

Third Horizon 

• Explanation of the item 

Several different, more mobile robots are under development.  Boston Dynamics (the developers of BigDog), developed a two-legged robot which they will use to test chemical suits.  DARPA has been developing a chemical robot and this 'chembot' is designed to "squeeze under doors or through tiny openings."  These would be ideal for surveillance.  Another surveillance device under development at the University of Maryland imitates the way a maple seed falls.  http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24231/page2/.  These devices can fall like a maple seed or can hover stably while gathering information. http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24303/.  Researchers have also been developing capabilities to make unmanned air vehicles more autonomous. http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24231/page2/

A consortium in Europe developed a robot that can "navigate a cluttered environment."  The hope is that this could be developed into a smart wheelchair.  Brown University has developed a robot that can "follow a person at a set distance, almost like a well-trained dog, by using a new, infrared image-recognition program." http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24231/page2/

• Photos (if available)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww

"Resembling a headless, mechanical canine, BigDog has to be one of the

most unsettling robots out there. But it's also one of the more impressive--

it can walk up or down hills, through ice, sand, snow and dirt by monitoring

sensors in its legs and adjusting its posture accordingly." 

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23008/

BigDog at the beach.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0s7aRUIoTw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67CUudkjEG4

According to BigDog: 

"Unlike previous suit testers, which had to be supported mechanically and

had a limited repertoire of motion, PETMAN will balance itself and move

freely; walking, crawling and doing a variety of suit-stressing calisthenics

during exposure to chemical warfare agents."

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24313/ 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf-i44hoVMQ 

"The robot uses a camera to identify and follow the person in front of it.

Usually this kind of system needs to be recalibrated for changes in

lighting and camera movement.

"The Brown team developed image-recognition software and combined it

with a special depth-imaging camera. The camera uses infrared, allowing

the robot to identify and focus on the silhouette of a user."

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23132/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbqHERKdlK8 

"The new robot, called chembot, changes the shape of its stretchy polymer

skin using a technique called 'jamming skin enabled locomotion'. This

means that different sections of the robot inflate or deflate separately;

controlling this inflation and deflation enables the robot to move."

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24235/

See also Chembots 

• Issues

• Sources

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24231/page2/

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24303/

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/24231/page2/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23008/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0s7aRUIoTw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67CUudkjEG4

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24313/ 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yf-i44hoVMQ

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/23132/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbqHERKdlK8 

http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/24235/

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