Robot mannequin to test UK chemical weapon protection
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/military-and-defence/news/robot-mannequin-to-test-uk-chemical-weapon-protection/1018347.article
British engineers have created a robotic
mannequin that will help the Ministry of Defence test clothing for
protecting against chemical weapons.
The mannequin, which is moved by a motorised frame, can
simulate the full leg, arm and head movements of a real person, as well
as their breathing, in order to repeatedly test how protective clothing
stands up to such action without exposing human users to chemicals.
i-bodi
Technology, the company behind the mannequin has previously made
similar devices for the French, Canadian and Australian armed forces but
said the new technology was more lightweight with a better range of
movements, which would help test the next generation of protective
suits.
‘The current suit is over-engineered with many layers of
carbon and the main thing they want to cut down on is the heat burden,’
said ibodi CEO Jez Gibson-Harris. ‘Fabric technology has moved on and
this will help provide new data points.’
The “Porton Man”, named
after the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Porton Down,
Wiltshire, is equipped with over 100 removable sensors to measure any
chemical agents that penetrate the protective clothing being tested. It
will eventually also have real-time sensors that identify exactly when
the agent breaks through any weak points in the fabric.
Made from
carbon-composite materials, the mannequin doesn’t simulate body heat and
sweat as previous models have, but it does have a more fluid and
realistic range of movements thanks to specially written software that
controls the Parker servo motors in the stainless steel frame.
As
Britain is rare in its use of live chemical agents in testing, iBodi had
to build the Porton Man with a limited range of materials and a
lightweight, simple design that would allow it to be easily cleaned and
passed in and out of the small airlock entrance to the testing chamber.
An attachable respirator also enables the system to simulate breathing
and so test face masks.
Gibson-Harris, who began his career making models for film special effects including Jabba the Hutt in
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
– and his team used digital sculpting software ZBrush to design the
mannequin based on anthropometric data on British Army members.
They
then worked with local manufacturing firms, who often supply nearby
Formula One teams, to produce the mannequin using 5-axis machined
patterns and composite moulds, adding smaller parts made with an Objet
3D printer.
Porton Man isn’t a free-moving humanoid robot and so,
despite its somewhat sinister appearance reminscent of robots in 1970s
science-fiction films, it has little chance of being used for non-test
purposes by the MoD.
However Google-owned robotics firm Boston Dynamics, responsible for building the
ATLAS and
Big Dog
robots for the US military, began its development in a similar way to
iBodi, creating test devices for armed forces equipment. Gibson-Harris
said: ’We would love to [build a free-moving robot] if we could get the
investment.’
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