In October, the Army’s Maneuver Battle Lab kicked off the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment, its months-long annual experiments on new gear for squads and small units. This year’s focus runs from new machine gun suppressors to counter-drone technology. Evaluation is focused by category and between nine and 22 technologies are being evaluated for lethality, mission command, mobility and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
US Air Force is seeking its system to build a robot that can dispose of bombs and other explosives. They are looking for their system instead of jumping into the CRS-H program of the US Army. The robot must small enough to fit inside the Base Response Vehicle or Bomb Squad Emergency Response Vehicle that includes passing through a 32-inch-wide door opening and parking into space 91 inches long and 63 inches high. The weight requirement is set at a maximum of 1,000 pounds and Air Force also called for a system with a minimum 800-meter, line-of-sight radio range, and a 3-hour runtime that will allow it to complete most EOD missions.
A new robot can be seen wandering around the Key West International Airport using UV light to disinfect surfaces. Key West is one of the first airports in the United States to adopt the use of the COVID-19 stopping robot that doesn’t use any chemicals. Developed by UVD Robots, they emit a high-intensity ultraviolet UV-C wavelength light that kills pathogens in the air and on surfaces. The robot weighs over 300 pounds and stands almost six feet tall, and will be accompanies by a human at all times when active.
Researchers at Northwestern University have developed an underwater soft robot that is similar to sea creatures. The robot is 90 percent water and has the ability to transport cargo, climb hills and release a particle by ‘break-dancing’. The centimeter-sized robot looks like a four-legged octopus and would be most useful in an underwater environment.
Source: https://www.theengineer.co.uk/aquatic-soft-robot-can-walk-roll-and-transport-cargo/
The University of Portsmouth has published a study on replacing support animals with robots. The International Journal of Social Robotics has found that a robotic animal known as ‘MiRo-E’ was able to provide support and could be a better alternative in certain cases. “This preliminary study has found that biomimetic robots – robots that mimic animal behaviours – may be a suitable replacement in certain situations and there are some benefits to using them over a real dog,” stated Dr Leanne Proops from the Department of Psychology. Would you trade in your dog for a robotic one?
Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-12/uop-rc121020.php
