NASA designs ape-like robot for disasters - CNN.com

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has designed the ape-like robot RoboSimian The disaster-response robot is competing in the DARPA Robotics Challenge finals RoboSimian has four limbs, no head and multiple cameras NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has designed the ape-like robot RoboSimian When we imagine the robots of the future, they often look and move like humans, standing up on two legs and using a pair of arms to grab and move objects. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is working on a different kind of robot for disaster response that's designed to move like an ape. Headless but covered with seven cameras that act as "eyes," the RobotSimian has four identical limbs that do double duty as arms and legs. Together, they ably move the robot across rough terrain and rubble but can also pick up and manipulate objects. It has wheels it can coast on if the surface is smooth enough.