It was only a few months ago that DARPA initiated their
ambitious Robotics Challenge that reserves a cash prize for a
(probably) humanoid robot that can drive to a disaster area and
perform several rescue functions including breaking through
rubble and closing off a leaky pipe. But a rescue robot won’t be
worth much if it runs out of power halfway through its heroics.
In hopes of addressing future – and current – robotics power
constraints, DARPA has launched their Maximum Mobility and
Manipulation (M3) Actuation program, “with the goal of achieving
a 2,000 percent increase in the efficiency of power transmission
and application in robots.” Just as DARPA and other humanoid
robot developers have drawn on biology for design inspiration,
the agency hopes that robotic actuation can approach the
efficiency of human and animal actuation where muscles, tendons,
and bones cooperate in highly efficient ways. More efficient
actuator technologies would benefit, not only robotics systems,
but all actuated systems, such a