Disney Research seems to be bullish on this whole robotics thing, and that partnership with ETH Zurich that we heard about at ICRA looks to be developing nicely. Their latest creation is a robot that can climb up buildings and then leap off, deploying an absolutely adorable little parafoil to come to a safe landing. Watch the video, but be warned: the drama has been cranked up to intense.
Wheee!
The wall climbing talent comes courtesy of a vortex generator (a propeller of sorts), which creates a freakin' tornado inside a cylinder in the body of the robot. The interior of the vortex is a region of low pressure, which allows the bot to stick to vertical surfaces, and since the vortex itself forms an air barrier, there's no need for a seal. This means that the bot doesn't need a smooth surface to climb (although it probably helps).
The robot, called Paraswift, was originally intended to be used for entertainment. And you are entertained, are you not? The team from ETH Zurich, though, sees more possibilities for their bot, like using it to create vertical 3D models of tall buildings. They also want to automate the parachute deployment so that if the robot ever slips and falls, it'll land safely. Sounds like a good idea to me, although they'll have to work on the parafoil steering, lest Paraswift suffer the same fate as iRobot's poor little PackBot Griffin.
[ Disney Research ] via [ TechCrunch ]
