From: hal@finney.org
Date: Mon Feb 05 2001 - 12:53:03 MST
Follow-up to Spike's comment:
> So how do we prevent it from invading homes? Not by police but
> by nosy or horny neighbors for instance, in the form of microcams
> carried by insects or mice.
For the current (unclassified) state of the art in this area, an article
pointed to by Slashdot describes a self-contained robot about 5/8 inches
on a side: http://www.sandia.gov/media/NewsRel/NR2001/minirobot.htm
(access may be slow today). Contrary to the Slashdot summary, it does
not presently have a camera, but they hope to add one soon.
Hal
===
At 1/4 cubic inch and weighing less than an ounce, it is possibly the
smallest autonomous untethered robot ever created. Powered by three
watch batteries, it rides on track wheels and consists of an 8K ROM
processor, temperature sensor, and two motors that drive the wheels.
Enhancements being considered include a miniature camera, microphone,
communication device, and chemical micro-sensor.
...
"Previous small robots consisted of packaged electronic parts that were
more bulky and took up valuable space. By eliminating the packaging
and using electronic components in die form, we reduced the size of
the robots electronics considerably," Heller says. "This was a first
major step."
The unpackaged parts are assembled onto a simple multi-chip module
on a glass substrate. The assembly was done at Sandia's Compound
Semiconductor Research Laboratory.
Doug Adkins, who developed the mechanical design for the new
mini-robot, says the researchers further reduced its size by using
a new rapid prototyping technique to form the device's body. Called
stereolithography, the material-building method lays down a very thin
polymer deposit that is cured by a laser. The material, which "grows"
as each layer is added, is lightweight, strong, and can be formed in
complex shapes. The robot bodies have cavities for the batteries, the
electronics-embedded glass substrate, axles, tiny motors, switches,
and other parts.
...
The ultimate size of the miniature robots is primarily limited by
the size of the power source - the three watch batteries. The body
must be large enough to hold batteries to support power requirements
of the robot.
"Batteries - both the physical size and battery life - have been one
of our biggest issues," Heller says. "The batteries need to run longer
and be smaller."
Over the next few years, with additional help from other Sandia groups,
Heller and Adkins expect to add to the mini-robots either infrared or
radio wireless two-way communication capability, as well as miniature
video cameras, microphones, and chemical micro-sensors.
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