Robot handler for weapons

Citation

(1998), "Robot handler for weapons", Industrial Robot, Vol. 25 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.1998.04925aaf.007

Robot handler for weapons

Robot handler for weapons

The Next Generation munitions handler robot is essentially a mobile arm that will place bombs more safely, quickly and efficiently than the US armed forces have been able to before. The steel and aluminium robot arm enables its operator to lift a weapon of up to 5,000 pounds but feel a weight of just 10 pounds, according to Francois G. Pin, a senior research scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where the handler was developed. The hydraulic system can then position the payload using very precise submillimeter incremental accuracy. The operator moves a handle on the arm's end effector to control direction; the robot itself co-ordinates joint motion so obstacles are avoided. The arm also feeds forces that act on the weapons gripper back to the operator, who would then feel the bomb payload contacting a wall, for example, and cease further motion. The major control behind operation is known as man amplification, which multiplies the forces from the operator by up to a 1:500 ratio into the strength required for a task. Many of the handler's control technologies, such as a new control theory for hydraulic actuators, are still waiting for patents. Propelled by a 70-horsepower diesel engine, the munitions handler sits atop a completely omnidirectional wheeled platform that can move in all directions and rotate simultaneously. Speeds of up to 1ft per second, which is fast for this type of device, are possible with the platform. The robot will reduce loading crews from three members each to two, saving approximately $40 million per year. Eventually, the munitions handler may be adapted for other tasks in the private sector that involve heavy payloads and precise positioning such as in car assembly.