Quick draw: The MK2 system gives remote operators increased dexterity.
(Credit: HDT Global)
It has rolling treads, three fingers, and opposable thumbs. The MK2 robot arm and torso system looks like a cybernetic cowboy in the making. Ohio-based HDT Global says its MK2 system can be deployed on any robotic mobile platform, such as Qinetiq's Talon bomb-disposal robot, pictured above.
With two fingers and a thumb, its dextrous hands (as seen in this vid) can use a variety of tools. Or users can swap them out for end effectors such as scoops for digging. The remote-operated system can be configured to have up to 27 degrees of freedom, or axes of movement, with two arms. It could be used to lift a 110-pound 155-mm projectile, extract a detonator, or unzip a suspicious backpack that someone has left behind.
It weighs some 51 pounds in the dual-arm.
"The new features of the MK2 give the operator nearly the same dexterity, strength, and speed as a human, with the safety of performing required tasks hundreds of meters away," HDT quoted its COO Tom Van Doren as saying.
Source: CNET
Source: CNET
