Federal robot research offers consumer benefits
Government development of mobile robots may lead to a host of products previously only envisioned as science fiction.
While consumers have long benefited from military technology trickling into the civilian sector, government research into mobile robots promises to bring a host of products previously only envisioned as science fiction.
Mobile robots move on their own power and manipulate things. Reportedly, there are about 500 robots authorized by the U.S. government for use in the war in Iraq, mostly for bomb disposal. And a 2001 defense authorization law mandated that by 2015, one-third of ground combat vehicles must be unmanned.
The Pentagon also is working on the Future Combat System, a long-term modernization initiative that foresees a wide range of robotic vehicles. They range from devices that fit in backpacks for snooping around corners to self-navigating, unmanned large trucks.
October's Grand Challenge road race, hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, was a day-long, cross-country robot race with a $2 million prize. Last year, there were 16 entrants and none made it to the finish line. This year, five robotic vehicles took a victory lap.
That $2 million investment is spare change compared with overall robotics spending by the military. "Especially when you include the enabling technologies, like sensors and power plants, it easily adds up to hundreds of millions of dollars yearly," said Bill Thomasmeyer, president of the Pittsburgh-based National Center for Defense Robotics.
So far, the chief trickle-down for consumers is components. "You can buy the motors, gears, bearings and computer boards you need, so there is a supply chain," said Yulun Wang, founder and CEO of InTouch Technologies in Santa Barbara, Calif. "And parts are getting cheaper."
Wang's firm is considered one of the success stories in the embryonic industry for civilian mobile robotics. Wang's robots are used for telepresence, which involves doctors at computer terminals controlling robots to see things remotely. The robotic "head" is a monitor that shows the doctor's face, so the doctor can maneuver through a distant hospital and interact with patients. A nurse performs any medical tasks.
Such machines can be rented for $4,000 per month.
Mobile Robots in Amherst, N.H., sells $35,000 robots designed to patrol buildings or run errands. Jeanne Dietsch, the CEO and co-founder. The robots map buildings with sensors, navigate and skirt obstacles. An outdoor version is pending.
Dietsch has her own reason for being happy about the burgeoning military market. "It keeps everyone on the military side distracted while we clean up on the commercial side, where we are almost the only serious player," she said.
No one is predicting humanoid robot servants like in the movie "I Robot," based on a novel by science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. But a common observation is that the industry's status is comparable to Apple Computer's first attempt to enter the personal computer marketplace.
The Apple I was hand made in a garage. The Apple II was a mass-produced market success. If the analogy holds true, the robot industry is in for a wild ride.