fido robot

The growing technology has caused the increase in the use of robots in military. Fido robot, a product by iRobot Corporation, is capable of “sniffing” or detecting bombs. U.S. makes use of Fido robot in Iraq to minimize the US troops casualties in Iraq which is mainly caused by bombs. In fact, more than 70 % of U.S. casualties are due to bombs. Currently, there are approximately 5000 robots in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are used to search for bombs inside caves, buildings, mines, roads, and cars.

Besides the bomb-sniffing sensors, video cameras which are able to zoom and swivel are installed in Fido robot where it sends the image captured to the operator. By using this information, the operator then controls and commands the robot. Fido robot is also equipped with 7-foot manipulator arms which are useful to scan quite a long range of certain location like undercarriage of vehicles. At the end of the manipulator arms, the grippers are designed similar to humanoid hand so that the robot can disable or destroy bombs.

By having these robots in war places like Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S casualties due to bombs can be reduced. The robots can be used to check ambiguous situations like abandoned cars or suspicious trash piles, so that there is no need to put soldiers’ lives on the line. However, the sniffing-sensors are still susceptible to false positives which are usually caused by explosive residues, smoke and other contaminants. Nevertheless, reports by CNN show that since the robots arrived, no one has been hurt or killed when disarming the bombs.

shadow robot hand

The Shadow robot hand is considered as one of the most advance robot hand in the world. Currently it can handle up to 24 types of movement which makes it a perfect solution for the disabled. It can hold a light bulb or a tomato, it also can write using a pen. In general, it is very skillful in physical movement or so called dexterous for such an artificial hand. By using 40 integrated air muscles, the hand can grasp soft and fragile object. The air muscle is a small actuator which is powerful and easily controllable. It behaves in a very similar way to a biological muscle. When actuated with a supply of compressed air, they contracted by up to 40% of its’ original length. The force it provides decreases as it contracts and the first few percent of the contraction is very powerful. It also can be fitted with touch sensor at the fingertips which provide sufficient sensing ability to detect event a small coin.
These air muscles provide the hand with many compliant movements. Following the biologically-inspired design principle, tendons couple the air muscles to the joints. Integrated electronics at the base of the hand system drive the pneumatic valves for each muscle and also manage corresponding muscle pressure sensors.
Three modes of actuation are used in the Hand system. An opposing pair of muscles permits full control and variable compliance of the movement for most joints. Conditionally-coupled drive is used for the Middle and Distal phalanges of the fingers to produce human movement characteristics.
The form factor of the hand is that of a typical human male, and the weight is around 3.9 kg, which is quite heavy for normal user. This is because the hand is a combination of metal and plastic.
Currently it is being used mainly for researching purpose however, applying this type of hand into rehabilitation and assistive technology is a a very promising possibility in the future.