Teen Twins' Cool Rescue Bot
http://www.wired.com/news/women/0,1540,49069,00.html
Hanna and Heather Craig, 17, built the prototype robot to cope with the most
vigorous terrain, whether it be rough snow or icy slopes.
The Ice Crawler is operated by a control panel that allows the rescue team to
remain at a safe distance from the victim.
The control panel's wiring is encased in a plastic tube that runs from the
control panel to the robot body.
The tube also holds the rope used to haul the victim back to safety.
Finding the right material for the job was one of the main challenges of the
project.
"Most of its parts needed to be redesigned -- it was a trial-and-error
project," Heather said.
They used bicycle sprockets found in their garage to pull the track system and
keep the track in place, while the robot's steering motor is a car window
motor that the two salvaged from a used car lot.
John Pursley, president of Envision Product Design http://cmosxray.com/ and
mentor in the school district program, served as the twins' adviser throughout
the project.
In the National Siemens Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition, the
Craigs received the second-place trophy and $50,000 in prize money.
----------
...and for something entirely different, here's a picture of SlugBot:
http://www.ias.uwe.ac.uk/goto.html?slugbot
(Last updated May 2001)
--- --- --- --- ---
Useless hypotheses, etc.:
consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, Cyc, Eliza, cryonics, individual
uniqueness, ego, human values, scientific relinquishment, malevolent AI,
non-sensory experience, SETI
We move into a better future in proportion as science displaces superstition.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat May 11 2002 - 17:44:28 MDT