thedrifter
06-15-07, 05:38 AM
Robo-soldier does reconnaissance for Marines, Army
By Rick Stouffer
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, June 15, 2007
Drop it from an Armored Personnel Carrier at 40 miles per hour, grab its handle and hammer-throw it into a third-story window: Dragon Runner isn't your typical cutesy robot.
When Army or Marine personnel need reconnaissance, another pair of eyes or ears to keep tabs on an enemy in close quarters, Dragon Runner is exactly what they're looking for.
Just 16.6 inches long by 12.2 inches wide by 6 inches high, and lightweight at 14 pounds -- 21 pounds with custom backpack and controller -- Dragon Runner can be deployed by a single user in just three seconds, the Marines assert.
The robot was developed by Carnegie Mellon University researchers, in conjunction with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, Va. Some two dozen Dragon Runners have been deployed in the Mideast by the Marines and the Army.
"We've made a number of improvements to the robot. We now can tailor it exactly to the needs of the user," said Hagen Schempf, the project's godfather, a principal researcher at CMU's Robotics Institute and co-founder of O'Hara-based Automatika Inc., sole licensee for Dragon Runner manufacturing.
In the last week, the robot's onboard camera has been modified so that Dragon Runner can perform under-vehicle inspections, Schempf said.
The robot can move at speeds up to 20 miles per hour and maneuver in extremely tight quarters, or it can stand motionless, allowing its onboard camera and/or microphones to keep an eye or ear open for enemy movements. The robot also is invertible with no top or bottom, as it lands cat-like and makes necessary adjustments.
The impetus for Dragon Runner came in 2001, when the Marines reorganized their urban warfare tactics and were looking for ways to scope out the enemy without putting personnel in harm's way. A compact, lightweight machine that could carry equipment including cameras, microphones and other devices would be extremely valuable.
Schempf at the time was trying to find a potential user for his idea of a small, mobile robot. When Brig. Gen. William Catto, then commander of the Warfighting Laboratory, visited CMU, the match was made.
Schempf is most encouraged by the potential Dragon Runner offers for civilian users, provided the overall price of a unit can be reduced. Three years ago, a complete robot, backpack and controller prototype was going for about $46,000. Schempf won't estimate how much a civilian version of the robot would sell for.
"Our goal to to place a robot in every squad car in the nation," Schempf said.
Automatika and Schempf are counting on the company's recent purchase by Foster-Miller Inc., a Waltham, Mass., company acknowledged as the largest provider of robots to the Department of the Defense, as a definite plus in growing Dragon Runner sales.
Ellie
By Rick Stouffer
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, June 15, 2007
Drop it from an Armored Personnel Carrier at 40 miles per hour, grab its handle and hammer-throw it into a third-story window: Dragon Runner isn't your typical cutesy robot.
When Army or Marine personnel need reconnaissance, another pair of eyes or ears to keep tabs on an enemy in close quarters, Dragon Runner is exactly what they're looking for.
Just 16.6 inches long by 12.2 inches wide by 6 inches high, and lightweight at 14 pounds -- 21 pounds with custom backpack and controller -- Dragon Runner can be deployed by a single user in just three seconds, the Marines assert.
The robot was developed by Carnegie Mellon University researchers, in conjunction with the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico, Va. Some two dozen Dragon Runners have been deployed in the Mideast by the Marines and the Army.
"We've made a number of improvements to the robot. We now can tailor it exactly to the needs of the user," said Hagen Schempf, the project's godfather, a principal researcher at CMU's Robotics Institute and co-founder of O'Hara-based Automatika Inc., sole licensee for Dragon Runner manufacturing.
In the last week, the robot's onboard camera has been modified so that Dragon Runner can perform under-vehicle inspections, Schempf said.
The robot can move at speeds up to 20 miles per hour and maneuver in extremely tight quarters, or it can stand motionless, allowing its onboard camera and/or microphones to keep an eye or ear open for enemy movements. The robot also is invertible with no top or bottom, as it lands cat-like and makes necessary adjustments.
The impetus for Dragon Runner came in 2001, when the Marines reorganized their urban warfare tactics and were looking for ways to scope out the enemy without putting personnel in harm's way. A compact, lightweight machine that could carry equipment including cameras, microphones and other devices would be extremely valuable.
Schempf at the time was trying to find a potential user for his idea of a small, mobile robot. When Brig. Gen. William Catto, then commander of the Warfighting Laboratory, visited CMU, the match was made.
Schempf is most encouraged by the potential Dragon Runner offers for civilian users, provided the overall price of a unit can be reduced. Three years ago, a complete robot, backpack and controller prototype was going for about $46,000. Schempf won't estimate how much a civilian version of the robot would sell for.
"Our goal to to place a robot in every squad car in the nation," Schempf said.
Automatika and Schempf are counting on the company's recent purchase by Foster-Miller Inc., a Waltham, Mass., company acknowledged as the largest provider of robots to the Department of the Defense, as a definite plus in growing Dragon Runner sales.
Ellie