When Sylvia joined her military unit, she
didn't realize that she was going to become faster, stronger, and smarter in a hurry. The military was training her to wear an early version of a Superman suit. Sylvia stepped into a "soldier amplification exoskeleton," which "lifted" her weight and the weight in her backpack. As a result, she could run much faster and for much longer.
With the exoskeleton's attached long arm, she could lift heavy objects that she would not normally have been able to hoist. Her smart exoskeleton sensors would warn her if she was being exposed to hazardous gases or if enemy forces were nearby. Additionally, the information provided almost instantly by her wearable "talking" computer boosted her memory, helped her solve mathematical problems, and guided her in making wise decisions. Her perceptive abilities were enhanced, too. She could see better in the dark and through fog and smoke, thanks to night-vision and multi-spectral goggles.
François Pin, corporate fellow in ORNL's Robotics and Process Systems Division (RPSD), believes the first prototype Superman suit, described in the above scenario, will be devised for the U.S. military at ORNL within the next five years. The ORNL-developed system will be even better and less bulky than the robot suit that Sigourney Weaver strapped on to make her a gigantic kickboxer in the movie Alien II. And the multidisciplinary talents at ORNL will help make possible the engineer's old dream of human amplification.
In the late 1990s, Pin, John Jansen, and others from RPSD developed the Advanced Telerobotics Technology Demonstrator (ATTD). This device multiplies human strength using a preselected amplification ratio in the electrical control system. As a result, with 10 pounds of force on a joystick-type handle, one person can move and control a mechanical arm to lift and put in place a 5000-pound payload while sensing all the forces that act on the payload, such as inertia, friction, or impacts. For example, with this machine, you could easily hoist very heavy objects—such as an automobile engine you wanted to put in a car—and assemble them precisely. The machine senses the motion and forces exerted by your hand and then duplicates the motion while amplifying the forces. It also allows you to "feel" what happens to the payload.
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Exerting 10 pounds of force on a joystick-type handle, François Pin uses ORNL's Advanced Telerobotics Technology Demonstrator to hoist an unarmed 5000-pound bomb.
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In 2002, largely because of the ATTD's success,
ORNL researchers will work on a follow-on project for new Air Force
and Navy programs. These will be focused on developing human-amplifying
machines to increase the abilities of diverse recruits in a time when
fewer people are volunteering to serve in the U.S. military.
Because of improvements in robotics and intelligent machine technologies, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has established an $80 million program to support the development of soldier amplification capability. ORNL has received some DARPA funding to study the feasibility of building within the next three to five years an exoskeleton that is safe and user-friendly. The goal is to amplify the strength, endurance, and speed of soldiers.
"Use of such an exoskeleton could also improve the safety and productivity of workers in the construction, mining, and manufacturing industries," Pin says. "Exoskeletons could also be worn to make rescue operations safer and faster, for example, when extracting people from rubble left from earthquakes or terrorist bombs."
As a precursor to the exoskeleton slated to
be developed, Pin, Jansen, Joel Chesser, Dave Connor, John Rowe, and
Lonnie Love, all of RPSD, in collaboration with Terry Tiegs of ORNL's
Metals and Ceramics (M&C) Division and Marc Simpson of the Instrumentation
and Controls Division, developed a prototype of a torso with a long
arm. The prototype was the outcome of a 1999 project sponsored by internal
funding from the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program
at ORNL.
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John
Jansen operates the actuation system of ORNL's human-strength
amplification machine which resembles the torso of a human with
an extra-long arm. Photo by Curtis Boles enhanced by Gail Sweeden.
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"This human amplification machine testbed
includes changeable parts that can be made of different materials and
have different control and sensor systems," Pin says. "We have shown
that we can amplify the strength and reach of a human using components
made of lighter materials than have traditionally been used."
The RPSD researchers are now trying to achieve a factor of 10 drop in payload-to-weight ratio. Their goal is to create an exoskeleton of stronger, lighter materials, such as special alloys developed by the M&C Division or carbon nanotubes produced by the Solid State Division. In this multidisciplinary project, they will rely on researchers from other ORNL divisions for smaller and faster computing and electronic technology, smarter sensors, and smaller power sources and motors.
Researchers from RPSD have also demonstrated "human de-amplification" using manipulators that assemble microgears into micromachines. "We use a less-than-one amplification ratio in the control system to manipulate such tiny objects safely," Pin says. "In this case, gravity is not the dominant force, but surface tension and electrostatic attraction are very important. This work could lead to assembly of nanosize components to create micromachines."
For Pin, thinking small is part of thinking big in the world of robotics.
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