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Robug III

Basics
size: 31" long, 24" wide, 24" high—with eight 39" legs
price tag: $1.3 million
see me in action

Getting Around
Engineers at the University of Portsmouth in England looked at crabs and spiders for inspiration when designing Robug. With its low-slung light-weight body, Robug III can step over large obstacles. It can also climb up walls using vacuum gripper feet that work even on rough surfaces like brick. Its eight pneumatically powered legs each have four joints, allowing them to navigate with great flexibility over uneven terrain. Speed: up to 20 feet per minute.

Control
Robug III is connected to a human operator by a 328-foot umbilical cable. The umbilical cable consists of a compressed air hose (for the pneumatically powered legs), a 240V AC power supply, a communications cable and a video cable. The human operator gives instructions mainly on direction. The robot will figure out its own walking gaits and foot placements.

Other Features

It can perform retrieval tasks, dragging loads up to 221 lbs.
Robot III can work safely in radioactive environments.
Can be equipped with video cameras.

See Me in Action

RealVideo: broadband | dialup
QuickTime: (4MB)
AVI: (4MB)

You'll need one of the (free) software plugins—RealPlayer or QuickTime—to be able to view the video clips of robots in action. If you already have the software, choose an appropriate connection speed (RealVideo) or the file size (QuickTime, AVI) to view a clip.

back | I'm ready to play

Photos: University of Portsmouth.

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