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Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Rotundus Robot

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*Its]http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/technovel_rotundus_050218.html]*It's spherical...

...is a sealed ball with no external moving parts exposed to ground or air.  It moves via an internal pendulum.  It can even make snow angels (erm...).

Can move up to a speed of 20 mph (on hard surfaces).  They say it operates equally well on snow, sand or sidewalks. 

Will be used for "security duty."

Anecdotes provided in the article too.  That sci-fi TV show from the late 1960s sounds interesting, lol.  Check out the photo and caption -- "Halt!  Who goes there! --"  A guy pinned down by...

Article's author also mentions another sci-fi reference:  Copseyes.

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Rotundus Robot

IIRC i posted about the predecessors... somewhere...
Tested them at the poles, etc... Harsh conditions, as trial for some cheap-o Mars'rover'

Sigh... I guess security is a bigger market, nowadays...

Cobra Commander

Member

From: The outskirts of Detroit.

Registered: 2002-04-09

Posts: 3,039

Re: Rotundus Robot

Article's author also mentions another sci-fi reference:  Copseyes.

Ah yes, I may have to read Cloak of Anarchy again. It illustrates in greatly simplified form the premise I think society should be built on ideally.

But back to the article, somehow a security beachball patrolling the grounds seems odd.  ???

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Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.

Rxke

Member

From: Belgium

Registered: 2003-11-03

Posts: 3,669

Re: Rotundus Robot

Hmmm... Do not taunt Happy Funball revisited? 

Palomar

Member

From: USA

Registered: 2002-05-30

Posts: 9,734

Re: Rotundus Robot

But back to the article, somehow a security beachball patrolling the grounds seems odd.   ???

Hmmm... Do not taunt Happy Funball revisited? 

:laugh:  Oh god, Rik.  That was great, LOL!

--Cindy

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We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...

--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)

Grypd

Member

From: Scotland, Europe

Registered: 2004-06-07

Posts: 1,879

Re: Rotundus Robot

The Ministery of Defence in the Uk have a Robot for surveilance and security it is designed to similate a snake and can take damage and the "snake" can simply ignore the damaged region. it is planed to be deployed in 2006.

As snake type robots are very easy technically to make it seems that BEAM types will be used in combat etc.

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Chan eil mi aig a bheil ùidh ann an gleidheadh an status quo; Tha mi airson cur às e.

dicktice

Member

From: Nova Scotia, Canada

Registered: 2002-11-01

Posts: 1,764

Re: Rotundus Robot

The Swedish newspaper article mentioned a "Swedish Moon landing in 2008." My reaction is tha a pair of 'em with video cameras each, could perform observations of each other, in motion, by alternately stopping one to look at the other. That goes for any pair of rovers.