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Rocket-Powered Bionic Arm Successfully Tested

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Mon Aug 20, 2007 05:34 PM
from the inflation-hits-the-6-million-dollar-man dept.
Robotics Biotech
amigoro writes "A rocket-powered bionic arm has been successfully developed and tested by a team of mechanical engineers at Vanderbilt University as part of a $30 million military program to develop advanced prosthetic devices for next generation of super-soldiers."
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  • Welcome our new robotic overlords...

    I know, but somebody has to say it.

  • Rocket-Propelled Bionic Arm (Score:5, Funny)

    by Eponymous Bastard (1143615) on Monday August 20 2007, @05:38PM (#20298111)
    I first read that as Rocket-Propelled Bionic Arm and thought, what's this? Mazinger Z?

    Then I read it again and, it's not much better. Off to RTFA...

  • I don't know what the rocket adds... (Score:5, Funny)

    by akpoff (683177) on Monday August 20 2007, @05:39PM (#20298113) Homepage
    but I'm sure I want one.
    • but I'm sure I want one.

      Surely you didn't read that in a "power enhancement" spam, did you?

      ROCKET PROPEL YOUR MANHOOD WITH BIONIC IMPLANT - As seen on TV!


      • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

        by fractoid (1076465)
        Well, from the sounds of it this has as much in common with rockets as it has with said spam. A rocket isn't "something that has expanding gas" or "something that uses hydrogen peroxide". A rocket is a device for producing thrust by ejecting propulsion mass. "Piston powered" would be more like it.

        Obligatory wiki link excluded since I'm sure you're all smart enough to find it. :P

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by sjames (1099)

          It is piston driven, but there is a connection bto rocket power. The catalyst and high-test peroxide fuel mechanism were first developed for rocket propulsion (and are still used in astronaut backpacks for maneuvering).

          So it isn't literally rocket powered but it is rocket technology powered.

    • Re:I don't know what the rocket adds... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Xiph (723935) on Monday August 20 2007, @05:55PM (#20298241)
      then take a look at it at the original story [vanderbilt.edu] It's actually a solid state hydrogen peroxide H2O2, it is the steam that drives powers the mechanics.
      I guess it could be considered rocketry in that it's solid to gas transition. Also, it's what the astronauts use in spacewalk jetpacks
  • Rocket power sounds really keen, except it's extremely inefficient, like under 1%.

    Rocket exhaust is high-velocity, low thrust. For a mechanical arm, you need like 1/100th the velocity, and lots of thrust.

    In other words, rocket powered arms are like trying to drag race with your transmission in like 30'th gear.

      • Yeah, but a steam engine works by steam created by boiling normal water with an external power source and using the pressure. This works by burning H2O2 which ends up producing steam and then this high-pressure steam is used. It's not external combustion. It's closer to an internal combustion engine, actually.

        I wouldn't call this a rocket, but it does seem to mix rocket engines (for high pressure gas generation) with steam engines (for harnessing high pressure gas). The closest thing I can think of is a car

        • Re:Efficiency, not so much (Score:5, Informative)

          by georgewilliamherbert (211790) on Monday August 20 2007, @05:57PM (#20298253)
          The term you are looking for is "Gas Generator".

          Rocket is something that generates gas (usually by combustion or decomposition) and expels it through a nozzle for thrust.

          Gas generator is generic for a device which produces gas. A boiler is a special case (heat + water). There are gas generators in airbags (solid azide chemical reaction), other industrial uses too.

          This just uses decomposing hydrogen peroxide to generate steam. Just another gas generator.

  • I was part of the beta testing group for this arm (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 20 2007, @05:39PM (#20298123)
    I used it to give myself a dutch rudder, and it was pretty good

  • Super Soldiers (Score:5, Funny)

    by batquux (323697) on Monday August 20 2007, @05:41PM (#20298137)
    FTA:

    a miniature rocket motor can lift (curl) about 20 to 25 pounds
    Wow, they'd almost be able to carry a weapon.
    • Didn't it occur to anyone that the reason DARPA might be interested in this is the hundreds of vets with missing limbs who have a need for better prosthetics? The military applications of this technology seems marginal at best. I'm sure DARPA is funding all sorts of military robotics research (in fact, I know they are), but this sure as hell isn't it.

      • Re:Disabled vets, anyone? (Score:4, Insightful)

        by Garridan (597129) on Monday August 20 2007, @06:18PM (#20298433)
        No. The Pentagon doesn't give a shit about the vets. Don't you read the news?

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by cortex (168860)
          I am a member of the Univ. of Utah team working on the neural control part of the DARPA revolutionizing prosthetics projects. I can tell you definitively that this project is solely aimed at helping injured veterans. They have made a point of having the scientists and engineers working on this project meet people who have lost limbs while serving their country. It was very moving and motivational to meet these soldiers in person. I am pretty sure that the technology will also be made available to civili

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by CastrTroy (595695)
        While I think it would be great for them to give soldiers some of their limbs back, if even in limited form, It seems that these appendages won't quite give them back what they once had for many years to come. How long until they can curl 50 lbs. How long until they have enough control to play video games, or type, or even just operate a remote control. Seems to me the 30 million would be better spent researching ways to stops getting into so many wars.

        • Re:Disabled vets, anyone? (Score:4, Insightful)

          by phantomlord (38815) <phantoml.rochester@rr@com> on Monday August 20 2007, @08:18PM (#20299261) Journal

          Seems to me the 30 million would be better spent researching ways to stops getting into so many wars.
          You do realize that emergency medicine (ie, that trauma center at your local hospital), plastic/reconstructive surgery, prosthetics, etc all have their roots in military need, don't you? If your kid is born with a facial deformity, be glad that somewhere along the line, soldiers had their face rebuilt after taking severe wounds. If you get stabbed in the park, be glad that the military devised a method of mobilizing, classifying, and treating wounds. If you get in an accident and completely shatter your foot beyond repair, be glad the military invested the R&D in amputation techniques and how to build a better lower leg.

          Replacements will eventually get better. In fact, there was a story on slashdot [slashdot.org] a couple weeks ago about a new hand, As to the person saying the military will only get such things for high ranking soldiers, the story I saw on tv was about one Sgt. Juan Arredondo. [touchbionics.com] Not only not major brass, he's hispanic as well.

          Everyone has a pet project on how they'd want to spend X million dollars... and we'll never agree 100% on any expenditure. However, I feel it is our duty to return as much life back to those who volunteered to protect our lives and freedom. Also, lets be realistic, as long as people are human, they will disagree and disagreements will eventually spill over into war of some kind (be it one military against another, one gang against another or two siblings fighting that goes too far).

      • Didn't it occur to anyone that the reason DARPA might be interested in this is the hundreds of vets with missing limbs who have a need for better prosthetics?

        CARL: I got Games & Theory.

        CARMEN: Games & Theory? That's Military Intelligence... Oh, Carl!

        JOHNNY: Whoa Way to go, boy-yo!

        RECRUITING SERGEANT: Next time we meet, I'll probably have to salute you. What about you, son?

        JOHNNY: Infantry, sir.

        RECRUITING SERGEANT: Well, good for you. The Mobile Infantry made me the man I am today. [youtube.com]

  • How steampunk (Score:5, Funny)

    by The-Bus (138060) on Monday August 20 2007, @05:42PM (#20298145) Homepage

    Goldfarb's power source is about the size of a pencil and contains a special catalyst that causes hydrogen peroxide to burn produce pure steam which is used to open and close a series of valves.

    The valves are connected to the spring-loaded joints by belts made of a special monofilament used in appliance handles and aircraft parts and a small sealed canister of hydrogen peroxide that easily fits in the upper arm can provide enough energy to power the device for 18 hours of normal activity.
    Does it make a choo-chooo sound when you're punching anyone?
    • Does it make a choo-chooo sound when you're punching anyone?

      No ... more of a Fisssssssssssssssssss-WHAP!"
    • When I first read the title, I thought it would enable the owner to knock someone lights out from the other side a room.

  • Try "rocket *fuel* powered"... (Score:5, Informative)

    by vanyel (28049) * on Monday August 20 2007, @05:43PM (#20298151) Journal
    There's no rockets involved, it's actually steam powered, fueled by rocket fuel (hydrogen peroxide).
    • Hydrogen peroxide? Hmm. Novel concept. When you accidentally scrape the fur off your cat while petting it, you can simply open up an arm valve nozzle and spray the flesh wound sterile.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by Tmack (593755)

        Hydrogen peroxide? Hmm. Novel concept. When you accidentally scrape the fur off your cat while petting it, you can simply open up an arm valve nozzle and spray the flesh wound sterile.

        The high concentrate used as rocket fuel (up to 90% or better, read the early stages of http://armadilloaerospace.com/ [armadilloaerospace.com] when they were playing with this stuff) would ignite the cat on fire almost immediately on contact. Stuff that comes in the brown bottle is 1% or less usually (whitening toothpaste can be around 5%).

        Tm

    • Re:Try "rocket *fuel* powered"... (Score:5, Informative)

      by TubeSteak (669689) on Monday August 20 2007, @06:13PM (#20298389) Journal
      Picture:
      http://www.vanderbilt.edu/exploration/resources/bi onicarm_CAD-arm_800.jpg [vanderbilt.edu]
      Caption:
      A solid model of the arm shows how it works. The propellant cartridge contains the pressurized monopropellant. The liquid is routed through two flexible lines (not shown) across the elbow join and into two catalyst packs: one for the elbow and one for the foream. The catalyst increases the effective volume of the propellant by 1000 times. The propellant does not flow continuously but is controlled and routed by the servo valves just downstream. By rotating to different positions, a servo valve routes the gas to one side or the other of a gas cylinder, pusing the piston up or down. The entire operation is computer controlled, based on force and motion feedback from the joints.

      Hydrogen peroxide + catalyst = hot gas (steam)
      Sounds to me like they're talking about a liquid fuel rocket motor.

      That pic + text was alongside the main article:
      http://www.vanderbilt.edu/exploration/processor.ph p?action=get_section_text&id=1311&r=664693 [vanderbilt.edu]

      About halfway down they get into the details of how it works & why they call it a rocket motor. Towards the bottom you can read about the engineering challenges they faced.

  • This is the kind of action I expect... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 20 2007, @05:44PM (#20298157)
    Bionic Commando [youtube.com]

    Aw yeah. That's some rocket-and-bionic power right there! Did you see what he did to Hitler?
  • FTFA, it seems to be more like a high power fuel cell:

    Goldfarb's power source is about the size of a pencil and contains a special catalyst that causes hydrogen peroxide to burn produce pure steam which is used to open and close a series of valves.

    The valves are connected to the spring-loaded joints by belts made of a special monofilament used in appliance handles and aircraft parts and a small sealed canister of hydrogen peroxide that easily fits in the upper arm can provide enough energy to power the devi

    • Sounds more like a complicated steam engine to me. Doesn't appear to be any electrical output ... just high pressure steam. Of course, I didn't RTFA.
      • Sounds more like a complicated steam engine to me.

        I did RTFA - at least the first level.

        Yes, it's a steam engine. (The steam is switched through valves and pushes on pistons to achieve motion.)

        Not a rocket. (No blast of burning gases out an opening causing motion by recoil.)

        Not a fuel-cell or even a steam generator. (The steam powers the motion directly by pressure, not indirectly by driving a generator to power an electric motor.)

        So we now have a working steampunk [wikipedia.org] / gaslamp fantasy [girlgeniusonline.com] robot arm.

        Wonder if t
    • It is not in any sense a fuel cell. Fuel cells produce electricity directly from a chemical reaction, consuming one or both reactants.

      This uses a chemical reaction to produce steam which pushes pistons. It is a steam engine. It is a very odd steam engine in that the steam is produced directly by a chemical reaction; they've replaced the usual boiler with something that is arguably a rocket.

  • Not the best idea (Score:5, Funny)

    by fishthegeek (943099) on Monday August 20 2007, @05:53PM (#20298219) Journal
    Giving a rocket powered bionic arm to a 19 year old soldier thousands of miles away from his girlfriend? This can only end in tragedy.

  • Amazing Video (Score:5, Informative)

    by fractalVisionz (989785) on Monday August 20 2007, @05:56PM (#20298251) Homepage
    Check out the video [vanderbilt.edu] on vandy's website. I love the last few seconds where the robotic are is about to cap someone!
  • There is a catalytic heat and steam source using hydrogen peroxide as fuel, but I can't find a rocket anywhere in TFA other than in the headline.
  • If there ever comes a time when I only have one arm, please don't send me (back) into battle.

    Thanks so much.

    A Super Soldier should have all his/her parts still attached. The other path leads to the Dark Side.

    Thanks again.
  • What is the energy efficiency of the actin/myosin [wikipedia.org] that powers animal muscles?

    And what is the efficiency of driving those proteins with mechanical force to produce energy? Can that energy be harvested as electrons or photons, rather than just reversing the ATP hydrolysis that usually powers their mechanics?

    And finally, what's the lifecycle efficiency of manufacturing synthetic actin/myosin fibers and the energetics infrastructure to power them, or be powered by them?
  • An arm? Just one? Why not a pair? What is it that one could use a single arm for anyway?

    Err, umm.....Never mind. Forget I asked.

  • Bad Move (Score:3, Interesting)

    by DynaSoar (714234) on Monday August 20 2007, @07:59PM (#20299131) Journal
    The Army prefers not to put powered vehicles on the front line because
    (1) they require refueling, and fuel is a supply/logistics problem, and
    (2) they make noise, and
    (3) being mechanical, they break.

    Loading up each soldier with enough H2O2 to get through the day would require stocking and maintaining equipment for this stuff. Running out of H2O2 before you can get refueled will result in removing the equipment so it won't detract from action, and that will result in soldiers abandoning it rather than run around burdened by something they can't use.

    Sitting around making a hissing noise makes one a target even in the dark.

    Putting a non-combatant like a mechanic/armorer on the front line is a bad idea because they can get killed, leaving you with useless armor. If this happens, or if it breaks and you don't send a mechanic/armorer because they're a burden themselves, it will result in the same abandoning noted above. Electrical devices break down less than mechanical and make them more likely to be adopted and used.

    If H2O2/catalyst devices are capable of producing sufficient power, they'd be being developed for use in fuel cells (which still requires the rear line placement), which could recharge battery powered armor (which doesn't have near the other problems). To be efficient it would require high purity stuff, which is hard to produce, and requires difficult and expensive maintenance no matter how far back it's made and stored. Even so, it'd be better from a logistic and tactical stand point to develop hydrogen based fuel cells to charge battery powered armor, running off the hydrogen from the fuels they're already going to be carting around -- unleaded, diesel and JP4/8.

  • Video link (Score:4, Informative)

    by ZDRuX (1010435) on Monday August 20 2007, @10:20PM (#20300241)
    Here's the link to the video [vanderbilt.edu] which shows the arm in action and talks a little about how it is made.

  • Sir, Yessir! *Thud* (Score:3, Funny)

    by kabdib (81955) on Tuesday August 21 2007, @01:20AM (#20301359) Homepage
    "Figby, why aren't the troops saluting me?"

    "Sir, they don't want to wind up in the infirmary, like when General Havermeyer reviewed them."

    "What?"

    "Ah, but it was beautiful, Sir. The whole camp, passing in review, snapping their new powered arms up in perfect salutes . . . too much sun on the hardware . . . a firmware bug not caught in testing . . . ."

    "You mean?"

    "Fifteen hundred simultaneous concussions, Sir."

    "What?!"

    "They dropped in well-ordered lines, north-to-south, toes straight up. A credit to the training officers, if you ask me, Sir."

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