Festo's AquaJelly is an artificial, autonomous jellyfish that emulates swarming behavior with an intelligent, adaptive mechanism. It is a project in the company's Bionic Learning Network, which includes universities, institutes, and development companies that cooperate with Festo in research to adapt principles in nature to industrial applications. At the heart of the AquaJelly's structure is a central unit, a watertight laser-sintered body containing an electric motor, two lithium-ion polymer batteries, the recharging control unit, and the servomotors for the swash plate. This is surmounted by a translucent hemispherical dome that houses a control board and sensors, to which are attached eight tentacles for propulsion. (Source: Festo)
I agree, Ann. The penguin and jellyfish robots are so impressive in that they blend in with the environment and obviously incorporate a lot of biomimicky thinking in their design. Those were the ones that blew me away in this slide show. Not sure how functional they are in terms of their role, but from a design standpoint, a home run in my book.
Ann, I too prefer the robots that mimic the natural sea creatures. There is just something beautiful in a design that can reproduce nature's functionality, particularly in the sea.
Back in tec school many years ago robotics was really growing but all of a sudden it seem like there wasn't much interest. I'm glad to read and see all the new projects. I really like the jelly fish. I would be most interested in seeing an underwater demo, especially the one like Hawkes Remotes U-Series ROV.
Ann, I'm amazed that the Wave Gliders have logged as many miles as they apparently have. With the sensors sticking up above the board that way, I'm surpised they don't get damaged.
Rob, I think that's a question that only the military can answer, if they would, or their subcontractors. But I doubt if either would. I'd guess that such transfer may occur, as it does with any other military subcontractor, to the robot companies developing machines with military funds, such as Boston Dynamics. From my previous experience covering military technology, there's no global mechanism per se: it occurs on a case by case basis.
Thanks Ann. When it comes to the R&D on robotics in the military and universities, is there a mechanism to share the technology developments with industry? I would guess some of the R&D from the military is classified. But is there also some technology transfer to industry?
I agree, it's amazing what's going on in robot R&D and also production, in terms of both breadth and depth. A lot of cross-pollination will be expanded because of open-source ROS, also. I think the development is spiking for several interrelated reasons. The military and industrial robot makers have been working on robotics independently for some time. Cross-pollination has occurred more with more university department efforts, especially as those become funded by government and (primarily) military budgets. But universities have their own cross-pollination effects, both within and between/among them. So now they're also working on medical robots and other types. Meanwhile, independent robot manufacturers are pursuing specialized paths (service 'bots for instance), sometimes with military and/industrial partners. Then there are also student competitions that have gotten to be a big deal. I think all of these are coming together.
Yes, they're all interesting. Robotics seems to have taken a major leap in the past few years. Is there anything in particular that is fueling all of this development, Ann?
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
0 
