A Cry Heard Round The World: Kim Sun-Il died desperate and alone, but he did not die unheard.
Looking At And Longing For Mars: Reflections on a childhood dream.
A Robot May Not Harm a Human Being. Is The Opposite True?: Thoughts on the future rights of artificial intelligence.
Long After The Boys Of Summer Have Gone: What makes a relationship work?
Winter Of Our Feline Discontent: What the cat wants, the cat gets. But what DOES it want?
To Tell The Truth: There may be no honor among thieves, but can't we find it even in a few good men and women?
Should The Human Brain Retire?: We know that we cannot win forever. We know that machines will continue to improve. So why don't we let the human brain retire gracefully now, with honors?
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Published: Sep 16, 2005 01:41 PM
Mon - October 27, 2003
Spidering The Jungle Canopy With Robots
And now there is. Researchers at UCLA and partner universities have developed aerial, suspended robots that scoot across cables while monitoring mountain stream ecosystems, detecting global changes in the forest canopy, and surveying coastal wetlands and urban rivers. The robots can raise and lower probes, collect small samples, and even dock to recharge their energy sources.
I'm always impressed when robotics are used to solve real-world problems. Can we expect to see systems like this one provide bridge security and traffic flow monitoring in the future? Probably, yes. And perhaps they're the first small step toward creating robots capable of creating, as well as riding, much larger cable structures.
Thanks to Robots.net for the link.