New Wave of Mini Robots Has Arrived

No name yet for this bot;
see it in the video below … if you can
image source

Beyond the economic debate of whether humans will officially be outsourced to robots — or not (maybe by 2045) — there is no question that the military-industrial complex loves the idea of creating robots that can serve the battlefield and beyond. Here are some of their current favorites.

PETMAN humanoid robot
Sand Flea jumping robot
Robobee – pollinator/surveillance
Cryo – robot jellyfish to patrol the oceans
Cheetah – designed to chase human prey (and now has had a cub)
Big Dog – Heavy lifting, like throwing cinderblocks, and transport

But, just as with drones, the next phase of miniaturized robot tech is offering some insane possibilities. The video below shows a new bot that Singularity Hub defined as “freaky fast” — like the equivalent of a human running 120 mph.

As Singularity Hub states:

…researchers from the University of Maryland and John Hopkins have constructed a miniature robot with independent drive motors propelling its four whegs, which are hybrid-wheel-legs that offer the best of both.

The bot can travel up to 30 body lengths a second (2.2 m/s or around 5 MPH). As IEEE Spectrum points out, a human traveling the equivalent relative distance in the same time would be going approximately 120 MPH.

As miniturization continues right down to the nano-scale, as well as bots and drones that mimic nature, it might become increasingly difficult to see what exactly is coming next.

Source:
http://singularityhub.com/2013/07/05/miniature-freaky-fast-quadruped-robots/

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