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[Image]                                          Electronic Telegraph
           International News
           Wednesday 12 August 1998
           [Image]                                          Issue 1174

[See text menu at bottom of page]

 [Image]                 Leonardo's robot set to colonise Mars
                         By Robert Uhlig, Technology Correspondent

 ---------------         LEONARDO Da Vinci's designs for a humanoid
 External Links          robot are set to take off into outer space
                         more than 500 years after the artist and
  [Image]Interview with  inventor drew the concept.
         Paolo
      Galluzzi,          Nasa is testing an
      curator of         automaton built using        [Image]
      Mechanical         Leonardo's sketches,
      Marvels:           held in the Queen's
      Invention in the   Collection at Windsor
      Age of Leonardo,   Castle, which experts
      at the Institute   say are better than
      and Museum of      most contemporary       Computer image of
      History and        designs. The result           robot
      Science,           of a collaboration
      Florence           between the
      [mentions the      15th-century
      Leonardo robot     Florentine visionary
      and                and a 20th-century cybernetics expert is a
      collaboration      human surrogate that Nasa plans will
      with Mark          maintain the International Space Station and
      Rosheim] - Quipo   build habitats on Mars before astronauts
                         arrive.

  [Image]Mechanical      Mark Rosheim, an American robotics expert
         Marvels:        who built the automaton for Nasa, said:
      Invention in the   "Leonardo's anatomy drawings are unique
      Age of Leonardo:   because he drew through the eyes of an
      The models         engineer. They gave me the information I
      [includes models   needed to emulate the complex joints and
      based on da        muscles of the human body. I've used them to
      Vinci's            build Nasa a humanoid 'Mr Data' type robot,
      drawings] -        which we call an anthrobot."
      Institute and
      Museum of          Leonardo's sketches of a robot knight that
      History of         could wave its arms and move its head via a
      Science,           flexible neck while opening and closing its
      Florence           anatomically correct jaw were first
                         discovered in the 1950s by Carlo Pedretti, a
                         renowned Leonardo scholar. Leonardo is
  [Image]Drawings by da  believed to have built a model of an
         Vinci - David   armoured automaton before he began work on
      Reuteler           The Last Supper in around 1495.

                         Over five years ago, Mr Rosheim began to
  [Image]Ross-Thim       investigate copies of Leonardo's notebooks
         Designs, Inc    held at Florence's museum of the history of
      [founded by Mark   science. Mr Rosheim said: "Carlo found the
      Rosheim,           puzzle; I put the pieces together."
      includes patents
      held by the        After seeing Mr Rosheim's computer animation
      company in         of Leonardo's design, Nasa commissioned a
      robotic design]    robotic surrogate using today's materials
                         and technology but based on Leonardo's first
                         principles. Mr Rosheim said: "Leonardo's
  [Image]Biographical    technique of fusing science and art together
         notes -         led me to build a humanoid robot that
      Leonardo da        emulates not only the function but also the
      Vinci Museum,      movement, flexibility, sweetness and
      Leonet             roundness of the human form."

                         He delivered the £2 million anthrobot to
  [Image]Breaking news   Nasa last September. In place of the cables
         - Mars Global   on Leonardo's original plans, it has a
      Surveyor, Nasa     stainless steel skeleton and electric linear
                         motors for the muscles.

  [Image]Multimedia      However, the secret of its mobility is its
         zone - Museum   Leonardo-inspired articulating mechanical
      of Science,        joints. Mr Rosheim said: "All the
      Boston             anthrobot's joints in the spine, chest,
                         elbows, wrists and hands move like human
                         joints. The next generation has shoulder
  [Image]Space science   blades just like a human. All its movements
         and human       are articulated just like us. It's scary."
      space flight
      enterprises       * Nasa's Leonardo robot will be shown on
      agree to joint     Tomorrow's World on BBC1 at 7.30pm tonight.
      robotic Mars
      Lander Mission     
      [25 Mar '97] -     
      Nasa               





Follow-Ups:
Re: Leonardo's Robot
From: Sam Coniglio <sconiglio@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>







	

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