Three weeks ago, I told you about Banryu, a robot to guard your home and designed to look like a dragon. Today, in "Japanese firm unveils large robot for disaster rescue work," the Agence France-Presse says that the Japanese company behind Banryu, Tmsuk, has built another dragon robot. This robot is intended to help rescue workers after a disaster, such as an earthquake or a volcanic eruption. But this robot doesn't play in the same league. The T-52 Enryu is 3.5 meters high and weighs 5 tons.
The five-tonne T-52 Enryu (literally "rescue dragon") is hydraulically operated and equipped with two arms ending in pincer "hands" that can grasp and remove obstacles to help rescuers reach people trapped under rubble.
Each arm is capable of lifting 500 kilogrammes (1,100 pounds) and when they are fully extended the two pincers are 10 metres (33 feet) apart.
Yoichi Takamoto, president of Tmsuk, said a few words about Enryu to the Asahi Shimbun.
"On Jan. 11, we launched Enryu (Aid Dragon) to help out at disaster scenes. Developed in conjunction with the University of Kyoto and other bodies, it can operate at the site of disasters such as a nuclear accident or a volcanic eruption, or it can clear away rubble from collapsed buildings," Takamoto says. "We expect to have it operational this year."
Below is a diagram showing -- in Japanese -- the different components of the robot (Credit: Tmsuk). A larger version of this diagram can be found here.
And here is a photograph of a man standing close to Enryu (Credit: Tmsuk). More images are available on this page.
Pretty scary to think about this big robot in the streets!!
For more information about Enryu, visit his website (in Japanese).
Source: Agence France-Presse, March 25, 2004, via SpaceDaily; Toshiyuki Otaki, The Asahi Shimbun, March 6, 2004
1:09:45 PM
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