Robots may be the first responders in case of another nuclear disaster

In the event of another disaster at a nuclear power plant, the first responders may not be humans but robots. They may not even look humanoid.

The Pentagon's research and development agency is to announce a competition Tuesday to design specialized robots that can work in disaster zones while operating common tools and vehicles.

And while such tasks may well inspire humanoid designs, roboticists say they may also lead to the robotic equivalent of the Minotaur - a hybrid creature that might have multiple arms and not just legs but treads.

Rumors of the challenge have already set professional and amateur robot builders buzzing about possible designs and alliances. Aaron Edsinger, a founder of Meka Robotics in San Francisco, said he was speaking with fellow roboticists around the country and was considering a wide array of possible inspirations.

Robotics Teams Ready to Share the Knowledge

Robots took a immerse in the pool Saturday at Coronado High School in western Colorado Springs.

About the dimension of a shoebox, with plastic pipe frames, the machines used dip noodle foam to keep afloat.

No, they weren’t looking for unsuspecting victims as part of an alien plot. These robots churned through the water, passing through submerged rings as part of an obstacle course to test the savvy of five area high school robotics teams.

About 70 students from five school district worked in teams of three to build the submersible robots Saturday. They will eventually share their knowledge with younger kids.

Each team was given a robot kit, containing the half-inch pipe, foam, three small motors, a battery and several other technical gizmos. The scattered tools and debris in the school’s cafeteria showed they worked hard all morning.

Robotic Surgery Gains Prominence in India

Currently in Chennai in India, major heart surgeries are being performed by a surgeon sitting on a console and manipulating a joy stick. In actuality, he is performing a surgery with the help of an extremely efficient electronic robot with arms.

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The robot’s arms could be maneuvered to perform some very minute and subtle movements to wield the instruments for the operation. The patients, instead of the normally high recovery time are up and about in no time at all. The surgeon in question was Dr Ravi Kumar R from the Chettinad Health City CHC, and the patient was an auto driver on whom a double valve replacement operation was performed with robotics for the first ever time.

Formerly, either the aortal or the mitral valve had been substituted with the help of robots, but simultaneous replacement of both the valves was a new occurrence. From the year 2000, robotics has been utilized in cardiac procedures and it usage has also spread over to other medical fields such as gynecology, urology and oncology. Despite being found in many hospitals in the US, in India it is available in just 4-6 hospitals such as CHC in Chennai, CARE in Pune, AIIMS in Delhi and Fortis-Escorts in Delhi.

Staples High Robotics Team Engineers State Tourney Victory

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The Staples High School Robotics Team, called The Wreckers 577, dominated the Connecticut Tournament of the First Tech Challenge on March 5.

The Staples team members are Haris Durrani, Timothy Yang, Alec Solder, Erin Gandelman, Dylan Roncati, Mrinal Kumar, and John Solder, with Joshua Schwartz providing supervision.

The tourney included 22 schools from New England, New York and Pennsylvania, part of the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition In Science and Technology) program.

The Wreckers 577 robot dominated the state tourney from the outset. The performance challenge consisted of five rounds of four teams randomly paired up so that two team's robots formed an alliance and competed against the other alliance. The Wreckers 577 defeated all the other teams in its division through all five challenges.

Advantages Of Robotics

Robotics is a modern technology and today most of the things are being automated with the help of robots. Thanks to the advance technology that the dependence on human beings has been cut to a large extent. Robotics has many advantages and a few limitations.

One of the biggest advantages of automating procedures is the accuracy of results. The chances of a robot going wrong are very minimal and as a process, the whole thing may fail or get executed to perfection. Robotics is being used across several industries like automobiles, medicine, household appliances and several more. The most complicated of machines can be assembled using robotics.

Robotics is also playing fairly an important role in the medicine industry. From preparing drugs to performing simple tasks in surgery. However, the process of actual medicine which involves surgery and others cannot be left to robots and human interference becomes inevitable there.