DARPA Robot Videos
 

After a quick search I found the robots that Dr. Tony Tether of DARPA showed in his presentation in Atlanta:

http://www.bdi.com/content/sec.php?section=robotics

If you click on BigDog (A.K.A. "Creepy Bot") or RHex it will take you to a specific page on each where you can see the same videos shown in Atlanta.

It does seem that there is a commercial RHex under development: http://www.rhex.net (or www.rhex.org). Check out the media page where they have 17 more videos some of which were and some of which were not in Dr. Tether's presentation. You have to click through a couple of "next" pages to get to all 17 videos.

Is anyone else just a little bit creeped out by BigDog? Its cool but just a bit too creepy for me!

Re: DARPA Robot Videos
 

Also, you can watch the hour-long PBS documentary about the Stanford and CMU teams in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/darpa/. It's really good, and it is interesting to see the very different tacks that each team takes to success.

Edit: I just came across the Red Team's website (they were the ones that came 2nd and 3rd in the 2005 challenge), and it is full of news, pictures, and videos of their progress for the urban challenge, if anyone is interested.

http://www.tartanracing.org/

Re: DARPA Robot Videos
 

Not necessarily that it's creppy, just a little 'unpretty' at this stage.
That's a word some of us use about robot in their building/crash test stages.
But, considering how advanced it is, I really don't care right now!
I wish I could work on something like that!
Or even the Urban Auto car challenge. That would be fun.
And the way that RHex walks is fairly accurate to how a roach really does move. It was kind of funny and kind of awkward, but on the way to the social, I actually saw a cockroach.... and I smiled.

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Ok now I want an RHex, Thats my new decided offseason project, mecanums can wait :)

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FYI, "the DARPA guy" is Dr. Tony Tether, the director of DARPA. This is worth knowing, as some of you may want to work for him some day.

-dave

Re: DARPA Robot Videos
 

I was in the pits, as usual, getting ready for Einstein. I missed the Darpa video that was shown. i heard it was good. Does anyone know if the video they showed is posted somewhere?

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Sort of surprised me that they didn't show any footage of the team composed almost completely of FIRST alumni.... Matter of fact, one of the insight members was in our pits all weekend :yikes:

http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/news/news_a...ghtRacing.html

Guess 12th of 195 isn't good enough.

Re: DARPA Robot Videos
 

Thank you Dave. I meant no disrespect to Dr. Tether. I just didn't catch his name when Dean introduced him.

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here is another website
http://www.darpa.mil/grandchallenge/gcvideos.asp

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Team 494/70's mentors are entered in the Urban Challenge this year, too!

Re: DARPA Robot Videos
 

You can see the “Martian Mentors” DARPA vehicle and our video submission to DARPA (a requirement) at this site: http://www.msu.edu/user/yokosaw1/darpa/max.htm

The site is under construction; the thumbs are not linked yet, but should be in a day or two, we have been spending our time on robots (494 & 70), and DARPA not on the website.

The video was taken over a two-day period and on the way home after the first day of filming we hit a deer, which took out the hood, grills, turn signals, and both headlights. We worked that night to make the car drivable for the second day of filming. (See if you can tell which shots were taken the second day).

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Awesome! That is some really cool stuff... the vision processing software must be intense to deal with all the different lighting conditions...

Also liked the use of kitbot frame rails for the electronics package frame and using spikes... did you use victors for your servos? :eek:

Can't wait to see how you guys do... i'll be checking back for updates for sure.

-q

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The lighting conditions were difficult. Yes we used victors, and an Edubot/VEX controller. If they work in a FIRST competition.....why not DARPA? Many of the controls were salvaged from a handicapped vehicle that was used by one of our mentors, this is a very low budget entry.

Re: DARPA Robot Videos
 

does anyone have video of that cool 6 wheel tank with the awesome suspension???
I'd really like to see that one again, and maybe not in slow-mo this time :)

Re: DARPA Robot Videos
 

Google "DARPA Crusher" or start here: http://www.rec.ri.cmu.edu/projects/crusher/index.htm