SuperBot is
a modular, multifunctional and reconfigurable robot, designed by Dr. Wei-Min
Shen and his team at the Information Sciences Institute at USC.
You might
say that SuperBot is really a set of individual robots that work together to
move around and solve problems. Dr. Shen has been awarded more than $8 million
in grants from NASA, DARPA
and the NSF to continue his research,
including constructing a 100 module prototype to demonstrate how SuperBot might
be used in space exploration [image,
video].
Dr. Shen points out the
limits of the current set of robotic devices used for space exploration:
One of the most challenging issues for human-centered
long-range space exploration is performing complex tasks in environments that
are not human-friendly.... the traditional approach of building separate robots
for separate tasks (such as the CanadaArm
and surface rovers) may no longer
be adequate for affordable space exploration as the required robotic tasks
become diverse and the need to pack many functionalities into a single launch
volume increases.
Dr. Shen proposes the
SuperBot modules as a way to meet this goal. Each module is a "robot"
in its own right, with microcontrollers, sensors, communications, power supply,
three degrees of freedom and six connecting faces to dynamically connect with
other modules [image].
At launch, or when landing, SuperBot can pack itself into a minimum amount of
space.
Upon arrival, SuperBot can
unpack itself and take any of a wide variety of forms. For example, it might
form several exploration rovers, one SuperBot
capable of rolling down hill [image,
video],
another twisting "sidewinder-style"
over level sand while another forms a SuperBot
climbing robot to take on more challenging terrain.
SuperBot will help NASA to
reduce costs and simplify operations by reusing robotic components from mission
to mission. If the robotic modules are truly interchangeable and interoperable,
the need for redundant parts on a given mission can be reduced, thus lowering
payload mass and cost. Mission reliabilty and safety would be enhanced, since
the modules themselves would know how to perform tasks, and would require less
active direction from astronauts or ground crews.
Dr. Shen hopes to have his
100 module SuperBot operational and ready for testing in a desert environment
by 2008.
The following articles
provide more information about similar robots:
- Self-Replicating
Modular Robots
Each ten centimeter cube is an autonomous unit with a microprocessor and a
set of instructions on how to link themselves with other modules.
- TETWalker:
Shape-Shifting Robot Swarm
This bot is a prototype member of an autonomous nanotechnology swarm that
can alter their shape to flow smoothly over rocky terrain.
Read more
at the SuperBot press release and in this short SuperBot project abstract (pdf).
(This Science Fiction in
the News story used with permission from Technovelgy.com - where science meets fiction.)
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