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| Science & Technology | |
| The BEAR robot to extract wounded troops | |
| 2006-08-08 | |
| The Vecna BEAR robot (Battlefield Extraction and Retrieval Robot) is being developed as an adjunct to other rescue technologies for extracting combat casualties. I always love the military's acronyms for these weapons systems...gotta sound tough, even when doing gentle activities. The BEAR bot has three main elements; hydraulic upper body, mobile platform and dynamic balancing behavior. The robot should be able to fully stand up by straightening the tracked units. According to Gary Gilbert, Ph.D., Program Manager, U.S. Army Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC—part of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command): "Robotic extraction of combat casualties from under fire or from hostile or contaminated environments is the 'holy grail' of the TATRC mobile robotics program. The BEAR prototype as envisioned in the VECNA proposal and current research contract is the most promising approach I have seen to safely extracting casualties from urban and wooded terrain or from other areas with numerous obstacles that would impede entrance by other vehicular or aerial robots. The versatility and flexibility of the BEAR that would enable it to do multiple combat support tasks—such as loading vehicles or carrying heavy equipment—make it more attractive than other robots that can only support a limited set of specialized tasks."A multi-functional BEAR? Who'da thunk it? A variety of remarkable new technologies have appeared in just the past year to provide for social care and rescue; some are in prototype and some are already in the field: ROBHAZ-DT3 Rescue Robot In Iraq This variation on an awardwinning robot design will be used to support Korean troops in Iraq. Why do the Koreans get to have all the fun? Robot Nannies - The Fact, The Fiction SF writers have been thinking about robot nannies (and other forms of automated child care) since at least WWII. This fall, Korea will have some in the home. Great, just what Hollywood needs...more mechanized nannies. TerminatorBot CRAWLER Gives Danger Two-Fingered Salute A rescue robot modeled on the movie Terminator. No comment.
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| Posted by:BA |
| #8 forgot my link http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_12/b3724007.htm |
| Posted by: Asimo 2006-08-08 20:04 |
| #7 Not that many "stairs" between Basra and Teheran. |
| Posted by: Asimo 2006-08-08 20:04 |
| #6 Stairs are the only thing keeping SkyNet from conquering all of us. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-08-08 19:54 |
| #5 What about stairs? Can they solve the Dalek problem? |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2006-08-08 16:41 |
| #4 Sounds like a viable delivery system too.......... |
| Posted by: j. D. Lux 2006-08-08 15:13 |
| #3 The BEAR robot to extract wounded troops This will save many heroic soldier/Marine and Corpsman/Medics lives..although probally on most ops units won't be able to haul them around but they still should help nontheless.. ~~~~ Reminds me of the drug robots that UCSF has used for the last few years. They look abit like R2D2. When delivering they leave the main pharmacy in the basement all by their lonesome and take the elevators and roll throughout 14 floors of UC, Moffitt and Long hospitals [same group of huge buildings all connected] and deliver almost all of the controlled meds. very tough and tamper resistant and avoid people and all obstacles. ~~~ [..]...The biggest challenge for the wireless implementation was to deploy the Access Points to successfully operate the wirelessly-enabled robots all over the hospital. These robots, affectionately named Elvis and Lisa Marie, operate through Wi-Fi enabled controls to travel up and down hallways to whatever location their medicines need to be dispensed. This in itself is a challenge; but, these robots also must summon the elevator, ride the elevator to its required floor, and let the elevator know when it needs to get off. The communication between the base station and the robots, and between the robots and the elevators, is done via Wi-Fi connection. According to Richard Van Derworp, “The challenge with elevators is two-fold. Not only do the robots need to maintain a connection to the wireless network running 60+ miles per hour, but, we also need to maintain that connection while roaming between and authenticating to different Access Points outside the elevator shafts. Elevators are federally regulated, and we cannot mount any wireless devices inside the elevator shaft without a permit.” The solution? Van Derworp and his team designed a special network of Access Points using custom antennas directly outside the doors of certain elevators. This not only kept the robots in constant communications with the wireless network, but also allowed the implementation of Cisco’s Fast Secure Roaming to enable the robots to maintain their Cisco LEAP authentication during their ride in the elevator. Fast Secure Roaming was developed because some applications running on client devices require fast reassociation when they roam to a different access point. Voice or robot communication applications, for example, require seamless roaming to prevent delays and gaps in conversation or connectivity. During normal operation, LEAP-enabled client devices mutually authenticate with a new access point by performing a complete LEAP authentication, including communication with the main RADIUS server. When a wireless LAN is configured for fast, secure roaming, however, LEAP-enabled client devices roam from one access point to another without involving the main server. Using Cisco Centralized Key Management (CCKM), an Access Point configured to provide Wireless Domain Services (WDS) takes the place of the RADIUS server and authenticates the client so quickly that there is no perceptible delay in voice or other time-sensitive applications. The first phase of the wireless installation is being used internally by the robots, doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff. In the next phase of the WLAN rollout, the Medical Center staff intends to offer patients service via ‘hot spots’ for wireless access.[..] |
| Posted by: RD 2006-08-08 15:08 |
| #2 A multi-functional BEAR? Who'da thunk it? Able to operate in the Artic or Antartic, but be careful or you'll end up with a Bi-Polar BEAR. groan. |
| Posted by: Hupeger Chomoter6161 2006-08-08 15:03 |
| #1 Vecna Beware the hand and eye... |
| Posted by: eLarson 2006-08-08 14:43 |