Today on Engineering Newswire, brought to you by PD&D TV, we’re building a bionic dragonfly, fishing with the FrankenDrone, and testing mustard gas on PETMAN. This episode features:
- To help test the durability of hazmat suits, Boston Dynamics has unveiled its PETMAN (or Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin) robot, which can perform rigorous tests like running, jumping, crawling, crouching, and crawling.
- Inventor Larry Friese is hoping to manufacture a remote controlled, tube-shaped vessel called the FrankenDrone USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle). It’s mostly hollow so you can put cameras or other instruments inside of it, and you can bolt things onto the exterior frame as well.
- Murata Boy, the bike-riding robot, showcased his innovative technologies at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry for National Robotics Week. A mere 50cm tall, this bike-pedaling biped is packed with high performance electronic components including ultrasonic, shock and gyro sensors, Bluetooth modules, and DC-DC converters.
- The new BionicOpter from Festo has managed to harness the power of dragonfly flight characteristics. Just like a real dragonfly, the robot is incredibly light, it can fly in all directions, hover in mid-air, and glide without beating its wings.
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Filed Under: Aerospace + defense