Scratchbot
Ratlike whiskers give robots night vision
Borrowing a trick from the lowly rat, the SCRATCHbot uses whiskers instead of cameras to see in the dark.
Researchers at the University of Bristol in England hope to deploy the poodle-size ‘bot in search-and-rescue missions where vision is impaired, like in mines or smoky rooms. Its 18 whiskers move back and forth five times per second. When a whisker bends, a sensor on its shaft signals software to orient the ’bot toward the object. Whiskers close to an object move less, while those farther away make wide, sweeping motions to establish the object’s exact edges.
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I want one!
meh too! but it has to be blue.....and have a cup holder.
from Mission, B.C.
Is this the next generation for roomba warfare? If it is, im out of here!
this article has already been posted, three times.
Its interesting for the first 5 minutes what does it do to hold your interest after that ?
This is a nice piece of robotics engineering if the autonomy is enough to keep it running in terms of energy and self guidance. (harsh environments are difficult for communications).
Nevertheless, I believe that the future of robotics in critical situations is in swarm robotics, that is the use of multiple mini-to micro electronic devices working in an orchestrated fashion.
I think you are going in the right direction with the swarming robot, but I belive that these whiskers are enough to fully operat a search and rescue mission.
How is the robot supposed to tell if that is a wall or a survivior that needs rescuing?
sorry, corrections: I don't belive whiskers are enough to fully operate... : /