Toshiba's Four-Legged Robot Plays Role of Nuclear Plant Inspector
We saw how the japanese prepared #-Link-Snipped-# damaged by the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan more than a year ago. These robots essentially followed tracks inside the premises or had aerial vehicles for over-site observation i.e. they operated without the legs. But, Toshiba's four-legged robot beast is now all set to make rounds of the nuclear plant making sure everything is under control.  The company announced yesterday that it plans to send this quadruped robot to the disaster site. We sense that Toshiba has definitely built a competitor to the #-Link-Snipped-#. Weighing a massive 65kg, this quadruped robot has a walking speed of mere 1km/hr with a battery life that lasts 2 hours.
#-Link-Snipped-#
Since legs are the focus-point here, let me tell you that this one features electric motors-powered legs - which is different than the hydraulics powered - #-Link-Snipped-# and #-Link-Snipped-#. Integrated with the robot is a camera and dosimeter that can be operated remotely. Whereas, a dedicated algorithm makes sure that the multiple joints of its legs perform efficiently on uneven surfaces and avoid obstacles or climb stairs. Other than that, provision has been made for an accompanying cable-connected, camera-mounted smaller robot that can be released if necessary for surveillance. In the recently released video that you can see below, you can see that the robot's movements are far from being called impressive. The robot needs more than a minute to climb one step and it stalled and had to be rebooted. But, this may be just a beginning to something more powerful. So, let's wait and watch -
<object width="640" height="360" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="https://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/Uohs8ompwxU?version=3&hl=en_US" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed width="640" height="360" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/Uohs8ompwxU?version=3&hl=en_US" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object>
Via: #-Link-Snipped-#
#-Link-Snipped-#
Since legs are the focus-point here, let me tell you that this one features electric motors-powered legs - which is different than the hydraulics powered - #-Link-Snipped-# and #-Link-Snipped-#. Integrated with the robot is a camera and dosimeter that can be operated remotely. Whereas, a dedicated algorithm makes sure that the multiple joints of its legs perform efficiently on uneven surfaces and avoid obstacles or climb stairs. Other than that, provision has been made for an accompanying cable-connected, camera-mounted smaller robot that can be released if necessary for surveillance. In the recently released video that you can see below, you can see that the robot's movements are far from being called impressive. The robot needs more than a minute to climb one step and it stalled and had to be rebooted. But, this may be just a beginning to something more powerful. So, let's wait and watch -
<object width="640" height="360" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="https://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="src" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/Uohs8ompwxU?version=3&hl=en_US" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><embed width="640" height="360" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/Uohs8ompwxU?version=3&hl=en_US" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" /></object>
Via: #-Link-Snipped-#
0