California-based startup Satyress has gone viral thanks to their 7-foot-tall, centaur-like robot with horns and glowing eyes designed to handle dangerous rescue missions.
Called Threehalves, the prototype “superhumanoid general robot” was created to assist humans in tackling wildfires and other disaster zones. Satyress, a robotics company based in Auburn, California, says it was designed to perform risky tasks in such unsafe settings where humans could be put in harm’s way.
“We are taking a teleoperation-focused approach not to replace skilled workers, but give skilled workers superpowers — in jobs that are dangerous for humans now, or impossible, due to risk of injury or death, extreme heat, bitter cold, pitch darkness or other inhumane conditions,” the Satyress website explains.
Why the very unique design?
According to Satyress, the design works well because bipedal robots tend to fall over when power goes off or the ground moves. Soft ash, steep slopes, and rubble make it challenging for wheeled or tracked platforms to function. Because they lower the center of gravity and maintain the machine’s upright position even on the most uneven terrain, four legs are more effective as they can maintain a more wide, stable base.
With interchangeable accessories such as a power drill or chainsaw, the robot can perform difficult forestry tasks like clearing undergrowth and felling trees. To give the operator a better view of the legs and enable the robot to function well in difficult terrain, the horns have cameras fitted at each tip in addition to the primary cameras in the nose.
According to Fox Weather, an operator can run Threehalves with a simple joystick.
“You could think of it kind of like a modern plane, where the controls would be a little bit abstracted where your joystick is telling it where to go, but the robot is going to balance itself,” the robot’s creator said. “Once it’s in position, we’re not going to try to do any kind of crazy ballet like walking while working. It will be more about achieving a stable position and being able to operate the arm.”
He added that the idea for Threehalves came to him because he lives in Northern California’s wildfire country. Since he has “been into robots” his entire life, he decided to create one to help in such situations.
“It’s really nerve-racking to live out here during fire season, but really the wildfire problem extends the whole year,” he told Fox Weather. “We’re going after the forestry stuff because the problem is close to us.”