Five coolest uses of self-powered robotic technology

Robots are soon becoming the future of mankind. Most of the operations today, right from dish-washing to automobile-assembly, are handled by these machines. They have started to operate on their own with the advent of autonomous robots. These robots are fed with pre-programmed tasks, and they manage to do so by adjusting themselves to various situations.

But, there is one situation a robot finds hard to adjust; finding power. As a robot is an electronic gadget ultimately, it needs electric energy to fuel its own operation. As long as there is energy in the battery, the robot continues to operate, but one this energy expires, the robot freezes midway of what it is doing. In order to make robots self-sufficient with energy, even when there is no human presence in the vicinity to take care of the batteries, most of the robots designed are going for non-conventional sources of energy such as solar and water power. Here is a list of five coolest uses of self-powered robotic technology. Have a look!

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Bob Schneevis is at it again. The man who turned George W. Bush into a robotic Roman warrior has now developed something he calls the Solar Electric Robot Chariot. Showcased at this year’s Maker Faire Bay Area, Schneevis’ single-motor, bot-drawn carriage features a set of battery-juicing solar panels and an array of cameras that control its chauffeur’s mechanized movements.

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Wave and Solar-Powered Robot Receives $22 Million in Funding

by Timon Singh

The Wave Glider is a solar and wave-powered robot designed by Liquid Robotics to serve as a platform for ocean observation, data collection, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The project has just been awarded $22 million in Series D financing, which will go to further its development as it begins to explore the ocean blue.

The Wave Glider is powered by solar energy as well as the up-and-down motion of waves. By sourcing all the energy it needs from its environment, the robot “can travel to a distant area, collect and transmit data in real-time [via satellite or short-range radio], and then return for maintenance without ever requiring a ship to leave port.”

The submerged glider can hit a speed of two knots as it travels the ocean for scientific purposes, offshore oil and gas exploration, and for a variety of national security uses.

Liquid Robotics said it is currently testing the glider for use in a variety of scenarios, including conducting scientific research for the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration and several premier oceanographic facilities such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the University of Hawaii.

 

Source: inhabitat

 

 

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