<
https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/17/nasas-robotic-self-assembling-structures-could-be-the-next-phase-of-space-construction/>
"Bad news if you want to move to the moon or Mars: housing is a little hard to
come by. Fortunately, NASA (as always) is thinking ahead, and has just shown
off a self-assembling robotic structure that might just be a crucial part of
moving off-planet.
Published today in Science Robotics, the paper from NASA Ames Research Center
describes the creation and testing of what they call “self-reprogrammable
mechanical metamaterials,” which is a highly precise way to describe a building
that builds itself. The inevitable acronym for it is “Automated Reconfigurable
Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems,” or ARMADAS.
“We think this type of construction technology can serve a lot of very general
applications,” lead author Christine Gregg told
TechCrunch. “In the near
term, the robust autonomy and lightweight structures of our approach strongly
benefit applications in austere environments, like the lunar surface or space.
This includes lunar surface construction of communication towers and shelters,
which will be needed before astronauts arrive, as well as on-orbit structures
like booms and antennas.”
The basic idea of the self-building structure is in a clever synergy between
the building material — cuboctahedral frames they call voxels — and the two
types of robots that assemble them.
One type of robot walks along the surface with two legs, seemingly inspired by
our own biology’s kinesin transport molecules, carrying a voxel like a
backpack. When that’s put in place, a fastening robot that lives in the frame
itself like a worm slithers over and tightens the reversible attachment points.
Neither one needs a powerful sensing system, and the way they work means high
precision is not required either."
Via
Future Crunch:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-malaria-vaccine-reforestation-china-poverty-india/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
