Rovers that walk

[Titana]

Remember the horrific, three-legged fighting machines in Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds? Well, those Martians may have been onto something. At a meeting here of the American Geophysical Union last week, NASA engineers presented a new solution to the problems posed by exploring other planets--and it's got legs.

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2005/1213/2


I wonder if a rover with legs would make it easier for them to explore. I kind a think it would be more complicated, (maybe easier for it to fall over). But i quess that depends on how it will be built.


Titana.

[SirBlack]

They call that walking? Heh, I think the article was titled that way just so the writer could throw in a reference to War of the Worlds :rolleyes:

Really, that design seems closer to an amoeba than anything with legs. Neat idea.

Though I wonder just what it would really be capable of. At the bottom of the article there's a link to a concept (computer generated) video of what these things might move like. But some of what's shown involves the struts expanding and contracting by quite a lot. I wonder what the realistic range of motion would be...

[OptimusShr]

A rover with legs could move faster as it can take long stides whereas the wheeled rovers have to move slowly. I'm not sure about the research aspects however. How would it's instruments be mounted and used?

Also on stability. They would have to distribute its weight so it would not fall over when it moves. Maybe a tripod design would work so that there are two legs on the ground at all times for stability.

[wayneee]

yeah Im kinda pesstimistic on this Idea. When watching the video of the contraption moving about , it showed retracting and extending rods, each conected to an orb which had two othe rods connected. I dont understand where the technology exists to account for this. Each rod seemed to be able to almost disappear into the orb or extend out quit far, where did all this rod go, or where did it come from. Also whats powering it, and where would the power source be located. I saw no sensors , or Antenae,solar panels , I realy dont know who forwarded the idea , but I wouldnt call it walking,its more like tumbling. I have no problems with a tumbling probe. I would just love to see a tumbling probe dropped on Oylmpus Mons, or in one of those deep creavases.

[Candy]

That's why chief investigator Steven Curtis at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, began modeling what would happen if a shape-changing robot--one that can vary its geometry with motion--explored extreme environments on Earth, Mars, and the moon.
Hey, I wonder if ToSeek knows him.

Why not build a robot that has the capability of doing both - walk and roll? Depending on the need for either or...

[Titana]

Hey, I wonder if ToSeek knows him.

Why not build a robot that has the capability of doing both - walk and roll?Depending on the need for either or...


Hum, thinking about it, that would be a good idea...



Titana.

[Candy]

It could be called a Transformer, like the old cartoon/toy.

[trinitree88]

A Chinese scientist already built one of those, called it Wok-N-Woll
I couldn't resist:doh:

[Candy]

A Chinese scientist already built one of those, called it Wok-N-Woll
I couldn't resist:doh:
I ruv you. :lol:

[Dragon Star]

A Chinese scientist already built one of those, called it Wok-N-Woll
I couldn't resist:doh:

:clap: Oh that's great, made me spill Pepsi on my "Ctrl" key though....Good thing my keyboard is spill-proof.:D

[wayneee]

It could be called a Transformer, like the old cartoon/toy.
i was thinking something like a Tumble Weed.

[Candy]

No, not Tumble Weed. :lol:

This is really something to consider, which I'm sure the masters of design have already thought about. I saw a toy on GMA that was just freaking me out. It was rolling and coming apart with arms. Why not something like that for Rover?

Seriously, it would be a great invention to further technology. Plus, they could use the prototypes to keep interest for the average man and child. It's a win-win situation. :shifty:

[wayneee]

I do think Nasa should get more into the toy market , for good public relations. It would do well with Remote control science toys. But hey dont dismiss my tumble weed idea so quickly. Ive been thinking about this for a while. Internal rotating engine would be secure inside a multi balloon shell, as well as all other equipment. This thing would roll around covering alot of territory. Then stop and deploy struts to stabalize , and errect antennea, cameras eccetra. The benefit of this is that there are no exposed moving parts contacting dusty and rocky mars.

[Candy]

I do think Nasa should get more into the toy market , for good public relations. It would do well with Remote control science toys. But hey dont dismiss my tumble weed idea so quickly. Ive been thinking about this for a while. Internal rotating engine would be secure inside a multi balloon shell, as well as all other equipment. This thing would roll around covering alot of territory. Then stop and deploy struts to stabalize , and errect antennea, cameras eccetra. The benefit of this is that there are no exposed moving parts contacting dusty and rocky mars.
That's actually a good idea - NASA toys. I'd buy one.

Oh, I get the tumble weed, now. :doh:

[HenrikOlsen]

I do think Nasa should get more into the toy market , for good public relations. It would do well with Remote control science toys. But hey dont dismiss my tumble weed idea so quickly. Ive been thinking about this for a while. Internal rotating engine would be secure inside a multi balloon shell, as well as all other equipment. This thing would roll around covering alot of territory. Then stop and deploy struts to stabalize , and errect antennea, cameras eccetra. The benefit of this is that there are no exposed moving parts contacting dusty and rocky mars.
It's a neat idea, but I think it'll fail to work well due to limited torque.
If it's only driven by moving its center of gravity around inside, then there's strict limits to the kind of ground it can travel over.

[wayneee]

It's a neat idea, but I think it'll fail to work well due to limited torque.
If it's only driven by moving its center of gravity around inside, then there's strict limits to the kind of ground it can travel over.

I agree, My tumbleweed design would be limited to certain applications. Like I would love to bounce one of these down the slopes of olympus mons, or spin around the South Pole, do a little Ice core drilling. But when it comes to Robots , my friend at MIT tells me KISS.:p

[Atraxani]

yeah Im kinda pesstimistic on this Idea. When watching the video of the contraption moving about , it showed retracting and extending rods, each conected to an orb which had two othe rods connected. I dont understand where the technology exists to account for this. Each rod seemed to be able to almost disappear into the orb or extend out quit far, where did all this rod go, or where did it come from. Also whats powering it, and where would the power source be located. I saw no sensors , or Antenae,solar panels , I realy dont know who forwarded the idea , but I wouldnt call it walking,its more like tumbling. I have no problems with a tumbling probe. I would just love to see a tumbling probe dropped on Oylmpus Mons, or in one of those deep creavases.

There are alot of conceptual videos as well as several videos of actual prototypes of the robot. I think it's slick as hell. The ideas for expansion and other possibilities are fascinating.

Two actual prototype videos:

http://ants.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/steppin.mpg
http://ants.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/upclose.mpg

Future possibilities:

Near-Term Evolution: http://ants.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/Tet_Evolution%20titled.mov
Snake: http://ants.gsfc.nasa.gov/features/LARA_lan.mov