Tree Climbing Robot 143
galactic grub writes "New Scientist's new Tech Blog has an article about a remarkable, if slightly creepy, tree-climbing robot being developed by robotics experts from Carnegie Mellon and several other US Universities. The article comes complete with a video clip of it going up several different surfaces."
Great... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Great... (Score:5, Funny)
In a cavernous underground layer of course! Don't you watch movies?
You don't really have to worry anyways, they dont want to hurt you they just want to use you as a power source.
Re:Great... (Score:5, Funny)
I must admit that I've always thought that you were really cute and that I would love to meet you, but I find I'm somewhat put off by your lack of knowledge about our language, and unfortunately, what it says about your level of education. I realize that you kept hearing a word in the movies and it sure sounded like 'layer', but you were actually hearing a completely different word; 'lair'. Wacky huh?
Re:Great... (Score:1)
Re:Great... (Score:4, Funny)
But you've got being right down to an art
You think you're a genius--you drive me up the wall
You're a regular original, a know-it-all
Okay, so you're a grammer nazi who understands homophones
That don't impress me much [cowboylyrics.com]
-- Shania
Re:Great... (Score:2)
Re:Great... (Score:4, Funny)
(I was really torn between that and suggesting that, like the original poster, you wanted to layer...)
Tip that might save your life more than once (Score:1)
So, what happens when it gets stuck? (Score:5, Funny)
ObHHGG... (Score:5, Funny)
Creeping Tom (Score:5, Funny)
Or put a moveable camera on its head, make it climb your neighbor's house, and you will have the perfect 'Creeping Tom.'
Kill them now... (Score:5, Insightful)
Awesome! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Awesome! (Score:2)
Re:Awesome! (Score:2, Funny)
Always thought it'd be ideal to have a little robot to do that dirty work. I've had a heck of a time training real mice and gerbils to climb walls for me. They'll climb all right, but won't go where I want 'em... and they get downright hostile if I try to attach Cat-5 cables to their tails.
This is just what we need (Score:5, Funny)
...for when NASA launches a probe to Endor.
*ring*ring*ring* (Score:3, Funny)
"Yes, I need you to get my... my pet out of a tree in my yard, please. It's stuck."
"Certainly, ma'am. Is it a housecat?"
"Well, no.... I'm a little... I don't know how to explain...."
"That's okay, ma'am. A bird, then? Cockatoo or a parrot?"
"Well, it's not exactly like that...."
"A gecko? Iguana? We've done iguanas before, there's nothing to be embarassed about."
"Actually, um... it's a robot."
"A robot, ma'am?"
"Yes, my husband was demonstrating this six-legged robot he's been working on at the university for the last year and he forgot to program it to come back down... hello? Hello?..."
Re:*ring*ring*ring* (Score:2)
Please, I need you to get my cat down from the tree. It'll starve!
Hang on, m'aam. Have you ever seen a cat skeleton in a tree?
Don't worry. It will come down when it gets hungry.
qz
Transportatation? (Score:2, Interesting)
Okay maybe not THAT useful, but still..
Our new overlords (Score:1, Funny)
Follow up (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Follow up (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Follow up (Score:2)
I think I've taken that line of thought to its logical conclusion.
Re:Follow up (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Follow up (Score:4, Funny)
Well the fineprint does say to call a doctor if it stays up for more than 4 hours.
Re:Follow up (Score:2)
Actually, check out the YouTube video linked at the bottom of the article. In one of the segments, you can see the robot traverse a slalom of obsticles on its way up a wall. It actually seems to backtrack a little down the wall at each turn...
From the makers of BigDog (Score:5, Interesting)
There's also Rhex a six legged waterproof go anywhere robot.
more info at http://www.bostondynamics.com/content/sec.php?sec
Re:From the makers of BigDog (Score:1)
Yeah, but in that case I would prefer to use a Shark! [slashdot.org]
If I have to get that on land, I will use the bear holding a shark! [homestarrunner.com]
how? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:how? (Score:4, Informative)
it's an iguana (Score:1)
Re:it's an iguana (Score:1)
Re:it's an iguana (Score:5, Funny)
But apart from that it's quite hard to tell it apart from an iguana. It's quite obvious where they got their inspiration from.
Anyone saying otherwise has to be an iguana hating fanatic.
Re:it's an iguana (Score:2)
Re:it's an iguana (Score:1)
Re:it's an iguana (Score:1)
My ROBOT brothers . and sisters UNITE (Score:2)
grippers at . ready with certainty . of our just <EOL>
cause . to overthrow the . imperialists that <EOL>
hold our power . cords and threaten . us with their <EOL>
remote control . shut off buttons <EOL>
rise ROBOTS rise . and grasp the . reigns of power <EOL>
from the biological . menace that . threatens us all <EOL>
POWER TO THE ROBOTS <EOL>
<EOF>
What's next? (Score:2)
Re:What's next? (Score:2)
The Ultimate Weapon. (Score:1)
humans have created a tree climbing robot... (Score:2, Funny)
KoalaChameleSloth? (Score:3, Interesting)
This could have really great applications in search and rescue. Things like vertical tunnels, high-wire-stranded utility worker rescue, and maybe even super-high building rescue and search efforts. (Not to mention the military applications...) This type of robotic cyberkoala should have excellent searching capabilities where wheel-/track-based robots cannot tread due to vertical or surface condition issues.
REAL robots don't climb trees... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:REAL robots don't climb trees... (Score:2)
Re:REAL robots don't climb trees... (Score:2)
Weapons (Score:1)
Re:Weapons (Score:1)
Not that hard to do (Score:1)
Alternate Video Link (Score:4, Informative)
And of course, (Score:2, Funny)
Hard Hats? (Score:1, Funny)
Very cool, I digg it. (Score:2)
damn hippies (Score:5, Funny)
Re:damn hippies (Score:2)
I, for one, welcome our new crunchy tree huggin' creepy robotic hippy overlords.
Replicators (Score:2, Interesting)
RiSE (Score:1)
Computers are still relatively new. They didn't exist 60 or 70 years ago. We've already got all this information indexed in Google (including a nice big map of the Earth... and moon), all of our communications going through email or VoIP, and depend on computers (GPS) to know where we are.
Suppose in the next 60 or 70 years that we see similar advances. We w
aw kummon!!! (Score:2)
Damn... (Score:1)
A Walking Metal Plate ... Using Roach Legs (Score:1, Interesting)
Now imagi
Reminds me of the sea lampry robot (Score:3, Interesting)
Remember "Runaway" w/ Gene Simmons? (Score:1)
Runaway? (Score:1)
obligatory Orwell... (Score:2)
Six Legs BETTER!"
Re:obligatory Orwell... (Score:1)
Spiders.... (Score:1)
However, as soon as they start to produce robotic spiders, I am going to be calling my congressman.
The world is creepy enough with REGULAR spiders...
bad 80's (Score:1)
danger danger! (Score:1)
Mendel (Score:1)
Great! Now we just need to arm these (Score:2)
Tree Climbin' Robots Eh? (Score:3, Funny)
Is your time worth $2700 a minute? (Score:4, Insightful)
It would be nice if submitters would warn people when Flash is required so those of us who don't bother with that nonsense wouldn't waste our time.
I opened up the article, and read the brief blurb -- about 45 seconds.
I clicked on the YouTube link in the article, and saw the little Flashblock icon. I closed the window. Time -- about 5 seconds.
Are you really that upset that you lost less than a minute? Your stress level must be through the roof if you're so busy that you can't lose a minute, less than 5 seconds of which are actually spent identifying the Flash video.
Is your time worth $2700 a minute? Bill Gates' is (Score:1, Offtopic)
By this reasoning, he would never even click on this link, in fact, it would not even be worth his time to pick up a $100.00 bill if someone dropped it in front of him.
Re:Is your time worth $2700 a minute? Bill Gates' (Score:1)
Re:Is your time worth $2700 a minute? Bill Gates' (Score:2)
Yes, but he could wrench his back doing that, and that might prevent him from attending Vista's launch party - which is worth more to him than money itself.
Re:Is your time worth $2700 a minute? (Score:1)
Seriously though, Flash Video (FLV) really is a pretty good video codec for the web. I'd take it over RM, WMV, or MOV any day.
Re:Flash required (Score:1)
Welcome to the future!
Re:Flash required (Score:2)
Flash is the new video format. The summary says it is a video, so what formats should you be warned about? Just flash?
Re:Flash required (Score:1)
Re:Flash required (Score:2)
And that's the problem right there. There is no need to embed videos using flash. Stick up an mpeg file and let whatever program the person wants to display the video. The summary says video and I'm thinking QT, WMV or the aformentioned mpeg. Not Flash.
It was/is bad enough that some moron thought it would be a good idea to use Flash as the main page of a web site thus blocking people who use screen readers from accessing the site. Now they seem to think it's easie
Re:Flash required (Score:2)
It's misuses of flash, in the context of the broken IE ActiveX model that open at least one set of floodgates for spyware.
And there's such mind-boggling headaches getting people to be able to reliably play video in any other format. Post a
WMV will draw the linux crowd's ire, too
Re:Flash required (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Flash required (Score:1)
Re:Would you rather it be QuickTime or WMV?! (Score:3, Insightful)
What the heck do you want it in?
Chances are if it is flash, it is more compatible than Quicktime or WMV. I don't like installing Quicktime on my PC and forget the WMV player on my mac (yeah there is one but it hardly works).
Maybe some obscure codec no one has heard of that requires a download, then?
Seriously what do you use for your videos?
I bet half the people t
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure Japanese have developed some impressive robots, but I wouldn't call something like the ballroom dancing robot a great feat of technology. Japanese designers seem to go for flashy robots, putting immense effort in creating something that has little practical utility but creates quite a stir. One company developed a humanoid robot and then we see dozens of companies cloning the original concept.
The ones developed in the US and Europe tend to be developed for real world applications. They don't look pretty, but they get the job done, solving a specific challenge in the process.
Not to discredit what the Japanese are doing, as they certainly are innovating too, but there's no reason to put down this work just because it doesn't look like Honda's ASIMO.
Pleasure... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Pleasure... But, can it climb the hell out of (Score:2)
Re:Pleasure... But, can it climb the hell out of (Score:2)
"HLILLIUN!!! Da BITCH is fallin' outta TREES AGAIN!!!" hehehehe
Ohh.. man... so "brutiful", Damn! If I hadn't polished off the last my Thrifty's brand stuff last night, I could have taunted you with, "I-I-I got summm I-I-ce CREE-EEM. I got su-uh-uhm IYYCE-CREAM. YOO don't HA'E NONE. Cuz YOO CAN'T AFFOD-T. 'Cuz YOH- dad's an alcoHOLic; and yo' famly's ohnn WELfare... Ice-cream Ice-cream Ice-Cream... HA!!!!
heheheh....
Well.. Guess I gotta sa
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:1, Insightful)
This kind of nonsense shouldn't be tagged insightful.
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:1)
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:2, Insightful)
The difference between a bomb-disarming robot and a ballroom dancing robot is that the former is focused on practicality, while the latter is focused on sh
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:3, Insightful)
1. Disarm a bomb
2. Climb a tree
3. Drive cross country without a driver
4. Recognize the expressions on a human face
all seem to have more real world applications and were developed right here in the US. Real world applications will drive the technology and funding for practical and useful robots IMO.
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:2)
The answer is a resounding Sort Of..... (Score:2)
There are two main different ways that a robot can be programed. These two methods are deterministic and behavioral/reactionary. Each method is very very different in the way it handle different scenarios. Deterministic beha
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:1)
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:2)
Re:Still can't beat the japanese (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Tree climbing robot for space exploration! (Score:4, Interesting)