| ASTRO satellite to autonomously move objects to NextSat
Don't say we didn't warn you, as just days after ASTRO and NextSat successfully completed an autonomous fuel transfer whilst orbiting, the thoughtful duo is already looking forward to the next big challenge. As Scenario 0 operation trials continue, the ASTRO satellite will utilize its "ten-foot-long robotic arm to move objects to NextSat," the first of which will purportedly be a "spare battery transfer" that will be "snatched from ASTRO and plugged into NextSat." Reportedly, this very battery will be the focal point of a number of future handoffs, and a "secondary sensor processing computer" will eventually be offloaded to NextSat as well if the arm cooperates. Of course, these relatively minor exchanges don't mark the end of the work week for these two, as a number of future scenarios look to provide increasingly difficult challenges for "mating" the two machines.
Waiakea robotics team off to nationals
The Waiakea High School First Robotics Team is being sent off to the national competition in style today, with Gov. Linda Lingle meeting them at the Honolulu International Airport and Lt. Gov. Duke Aiona will be meeting the team in Atlanta, where the 2007 First Robotics Championships is being held. The competition starts Thursday and runs through Saturday, and NASA TV will be broadcasting the competition live on its Web site (www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html). .
New meaning to ‘picking your brain'
On Tuesday researchers at the University of Calgary unveiled the NeuroArm — a new surgical robot they developed with help from the people who built the Canadarm for NASA's space shuttles. This robot bears little resemblance to R2-D2 from Star Wars fame but it does come with high-definition cameras and bright lights. It also has two arms that wield operating tools with the skill of a surgeon. .
Explosive-sniffing robots headed to Iraq
The US military - increasing its reliance on robots in war - soon will be using explosive-sniffing robots to better detect roadside bombs which account for more than 70 per cent of the US casualties in Iraq. Fido is the first robot with an explosives sensor integrated into its body. iRobot Corp is filling the military's first order of 100 in the southwest Ohio city of Dayton and will begin shipping the robots over the next few months. There are nearly 5,000 robots in Iraq and Afghanistan, up from about 150 in 2004. Soldiers use them to search caves and buildings for insurgents, detect mines and ferret out roadside and car bombs. As the war in Iraq enters its fifth year, the US government is spending more money on military robots and the two major US robot-makers have increased production.
Robotic surgeon to team up with doctors, astronauts on NASA mission
This week Raven, the mobile surgical robot developed by the University of Washington, leaves for the depths of the Atlantic Ocean. The UW will participate in NASAs mission to submerge a surgeon and robotic gear in a simulated spaceship. For 12 days the surgical robotic system will be put through its paces in an underwater capsule that mimics conditions in a space shuttle. Surgeons back in Seattle will guide its movements. The 12th NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations test will take place May 7 to 18 off the coast of Florida. The robot leaves Seattle on Friday. During the mission, Raven will operate in the Aquarius Undersea Laboratory, a submarine-like research pod about 60 feet underwater. This mission will test current technology for sending remote-controlled surgical robotic systems into space.
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