Big Booger
June 13th, 2004, 08:09 AM
Vehicle to autonomous biped robot conversion for the Mini Cooper r50.
I first had the vision to build a robot while working as an engineer on the old Mini Coopers in the late 1960s. There were no real robots at the time of course, so it was purely science-fiction. But I always believed a robot would be the most natural complement to the automobile - a full biped, intelligent version having great strength, dexterity and a library of mechanical knowledge. I imagined a robot with the ability to repair vehicles, direct traffic and watch over high-accident crossroads to preempt accidents.
This ambition started to look possible when work began on the new Mini. I've always believed BMW overbuilds many of their parts, so the over-building of certain Mini applications for my robotics use went unnoticed. In 1998, I began tests in a remote location outside Oxford.
http://www.r50rd.co.uk/research/internal/v2i/engin/
http://www.r50rd.co.uk/research/internal/v2i/engin/images/photos/photo_2.jpg
:D It has been reported to be a hoax, but a very good one if so.
I first had the vision to build a robot while working as an engineer on the old Mini Coopers in the late 1960s. There were no real robots at the time of course, so it was purely science-fiction. But I always believed a robot would be the most natural complement to the automobile - a full biped, intelligent version having great strength, dexterity and a library of mechanical knowledge. I imagined a robot with the ability to repair vehicles, direct traffic and watch over high-accident crossroads to preempt accidents.
This ambition started to look possible when work began on the new Mini. I've always believed BMW overbuilds many of their parts, so the over-building of certain Mini applications for my robotics use went unnoticed. In 1998, I began tests in a remote location outside Oxford.
http://www.r50rd.co.uk/research/internal/v2i/engin/
http://www.r50rd.co.uk/research/internal/v2i/engin/images/photos/photo_2.jpg
:D It has been reported to be a hoax, but a very good one if so.