Nasa and GM Developing Robotic Gloves

General Motors and NASA are jointly developing a robotic glove that auto workers and astronauts can wear to help do their respective jobs better while potentially reducing the risk of repetitive stress injuries.

The Human Grasp Assist device, known internally in both organizations as the K-glove or Robo-Glove, resulted from GM and NASA’s Robonaut 2 (R2) project, which launched the first human-like robot into space in 2011.

R2 is a permanent resident of the International Space Station.

When engineers, researchers and scientists from GM and NASA began collaborating on R2 in 2007, one of the design requirements was for the robot to operate tools designed for humans, alongside astronauts in outer space and factory workers on Earth.

The team achieved an unprecedented level of hand dexterity on R2 by using leading-edge sensors, actuators and tendons comparable to the nerves, muscles and tendons in a human hand.

Research shows that continuously gripping a tool can cause fatigue in hand muscles within a few minutes. Initial testing of the Robo-Glove indicates the wearer can hold a grip longer and more comfortably.

“When fully developed, the Robo-Glove has the potential to reduce the amount of force that an auto worker would need to exert when operating a tool for an extended time or with repetitive motions,” said Dana Komin, GM’s manufacturing engineering director, Global Automation Strategy and Execution. “In so doing, it is expected to reduce the risk of repetitive stress injury.”

For example, an astronaut working in a pressurized suit outside the space station or an assembly operator in a factory might need to use 15-20 pounds of force to hold a tool during an operation but with the robotic glove only five-to-10 pounds of force might need to be applied.

“The prototype glove offers my space suit team a promising opportunity to explore new ideas, and challenges our traditional thinking of what extravehicular activity hand dexterity could be,” said Trish Petete, division chief, Crew and Thermal Systems Division, NASA Johnson Space Center.

Inspired by the finger actuation system of R2, actuators are embedded into the upper portion of the glove to provide grasping support to human fingers.

The pressure sensors, similar to the sensors that give R2 its sense of touch are incorporated into the fingertips of the glove to detect when the user is grasping a tool.

When the user grasps the tool, the synthetic tendons automatically retract, pulling the fingers into a gripping position and holding them there until the sensor is released.

GM and NASA have submitted 46 patent applications for R2, including 21 for R2’s hand and four for the Robo-Glove alone.

The first prototype of the glove was completed in March 2011 with a second generation arriving three months later. The fabric for the glove was produced by Oceaneering Space Systems, the same company that provided R2’s “skin.”

The current prototypes weigh about two pounds and include the control electronics, actuators and a small display for programming and diagnostics.

An off-the-shelf lithium-ion power-tool battery with a belt-clip is used to power the system. A third-generation prototype that will use repackaged components to reduce the size and weight of the system is nearing completion.

“We are continuously looking for ways to improve safety and productivity on the shop floor,” Komin said.

“Our goal is to bring this technology to the shop floor in the near future.”

NASA and GM have a long, rich history of partnering on key technologies, starting in the 1960s with the development of the navigation systems for the Apollo missions.

GM also played a vital role in the development of the Lunar Rover Vehicle, the first vehicle used on the moon.

RIMAC: The Croatian Tesla

As new ideas emerge to choke off the giant funnel of fossil fuel that feeds it, start-up companies are spawning with Internet-like rapidity.

Frankfurt Motor Show 2011

This also includes the motor sector, where concepts for electric cars are crawling out of the woodwork, including those from relatively unknown entities.

The latest example comes from Croatia where, Rimac Automobilli, is expected to unveil a stunner at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week.

The specs of its Concept One would rival the Tesla Roadster – the gold standard of sporty EVs.

The Concept One accelerates 0-to-100 km/h (basically, 0-to-60 mph) in a blinding 2.8 seconds, boasts a top speed of 305 km/h (189 mph), and has a range of 366 miles which if true would match the range of many a gasoline engine.

Rimac Automobili Facebook Page

How will they achieve those numbers: a high capacity 92 kWh battery drives 4 separate electric motors that propel a lightweight car of 1650 kilograms (3638 pounds)) made with an aluminum frame and carbon fiber body. It will also generate: 1088 bhp, and a 3800 Nm torque.

In keeping with the upstart dotcom-like flavour of it all, Rimac is run by a youngster. The boss is a 23-year-old automobile designer with a friendly sounding first name, Mate Rimac.

As can be seen from this teaser Youtube video, the Concept One appears to be made in high-tech facilities.

Rimac Automobili? Not exactly a household name but then, neither are Lightning Car Co. or Evilio, just two examples of obscure little companies that have thrown their hat into the EV ring recently.

Rimac is emblematic of the entrepreneurial zeal that will help drive along new ideas that could unseat fossil fuels.

Of course, Rimac et al have to compete with the EV initiatives of the more established automobile companies, where the list of vendors these days is almost as long as the list of all big car brands such as VW with its one-seater, GM, Nissan, BMW, Ford, Mercedes and the staggering Audi.

China Embraces GM Strains of Rice and Corn

China has approved genetically modified strains of rice and corn in a move experts say could dramatically boost crop yields and help the world's most populous nation avoid food shortages.

The Ministry of Agriculture said it had issued initial production licences for genetically modified rice and corn, paving the way for commercial cultivation of high-yielding and pest-resistant grain and cereal crops.

In a fax to AFP this week, the ministry said the decision was "an important outcome of China's research on genetic engineering technology".

"It lays a good foundation for commercial production," the ministry said.

Further approvals are required before the genetically modified rice and corn can be grown commercially, it added.

Huang Dejun, chief analyst with Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant, said the government wanted the agricultural industry "to be prepared" for a potential grain shortage.

"China's grain security is guaranteed now... but it is hard to rule out the possibility (of a shortage) as living standards improve or yields slump because of a sharp decrease in the area of farming land or serious impacts of climate change," Huang said.

The technology could increase rice and corn yields by about 30 percent, Huang estimated.

Beijing said in July 2008 that it aimed to cultivate high-yielding and pest-resistant genetically modified grains as it faces the challenge of feeding its 1.3 billion people and battles shrinking arable land and climate change.

China is a major producer of genetically modified cotton and vegetables such as peppers and tomatoes.

But Greenpeace China said the commercialisation of genetically modified rice was a "dangerous genetic experiment" and called on Beijing to make public the health and environmental studies used in the certification process.

"Rice is the most important staple food for Chinese people and our babies grow up on rice," said Lorena Luo, Greenpeace China's food and agriculture campaigner.

"People have the right to know whether the rice they eat has any health risk. Who are these... scientists in the committee to make the decision for 1.3 billion people?"

No varieties of genetically modified rice are currently grown commercially in the world although several have been approved, according to the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.

China produces about 20 percent of the world's corn and 30 percent of its rice, according to the US Department of Agriculture website.

China's cabinet in July 2008 approved a mid- and long-term grain security plan that aims to keep annual output above 500 million tonnes by 2010 and increase production to more than 540 million tonnes a year by 2020.

Premier Wen Jiabao said at the time that China faces serious challenges in ensuring it will have enough grain to feed its population in the decades to come, citing urbanisation and climate change as two major problems.

But at a conference on world food security in Rome last month, Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said China now has a "favourable food security situation" with abundant grain reserves and sufficient supply of staple crops, according to the China Daily.