http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The Fourmile fire located 20 miles northeast of Morenci, Arizona is basically a grass fire. Currently it is over 5000 acres in size and is not contained at all. Because of the hot, dry conditions, the potential for growth of this fire is high. Officials are estimating that containment of this fire will be on or about June 15, 2013. http://phys.org/news290183660.html Space & Earth Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:34:29 EST news290183660 (Phys.org) —University of Pennsylvania robotics teams are at it again, this time coming up with a robot that aggressively expands the range of how many moves can be made to successfully cross rough terrain full of climbing and leaping challenges. Aaron M. Jonson, and D. E. Koditschek from the University of Pennsylvania's Kod *lab (a subsidiary of the school's GRASP Lab) presented their research, "Toward a Vocabulary of Legged Leaping," at ICRA 2013 in Germany. The video of their device in motion, showing gymnastic-style feats, recently made the rounds of tech sites. The authors also won attention in being one of five finalists for Best Student Paper Award. ICRA stands for the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. http://phys.org/news287412883.html Electronics Fri, 10 May 2013 14:10:03 EST news287412883 A small robot has discovered three possible burial chambers under a temple in Mexico's pre-Hispanic city of Teotihuacan, a find that may reveal secrets about funeral rituals in the ancient site. http://phys.org/news286036317.html Other Sciences Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:33:43 EST news286036317 (Phys.org) —Boston Dynamics' DARPA-funded robotic dog has been upgraded with added functions for military support in hauling gear on rough terrain, Its new appendage is called various things—a "kind of head," a "face-arm," and a "canine elephant trunk." Whatever the terminology, BigDog has a new appendage to its torso that resembles a head. Boston Dynamic's goal of increasing versatility of roles took a page from movements by human athletes. They use the strength of their legs and torso to help power their arm actions. Likewise, Boston Dynamics is giving BigDog an enhanced ability to rely on its entire body for throwing heavy objects around, with an appendage powerful enough to lift and throw the objects aside. http://phys.org/news281506839.html Electronics Sun, 03 Mar 2013 05:00:02 EST news281506839 (Phys.org)—Japan's resolve to come up with better wheelchairs for the disabled and aged for indoor and outdoor use has produced numerous prototypes showcased at special events. The latest debut is a robotic wheelchair that stages a kind of Transformer act, converting its wheels into legs when needed, as in climbing stairs. A group from the Chiba Institute of Technology, led by associate professor Shuro Nakajima, developed the wheelchair. The device has a four-wheel drive and five axes. The chair rolls along on its wheels, until it reaches an obstacle such as steps or a ditch. The chair meets the obstacle by using wheels as legs. Sensors run the show; the sensors help the device to assess size and distance. The robot, with sensors on its feet, moves appropriately. If the sensors are ever in error, and the wheels hit an obstacle, the wheel torque can vary as a back-up measure. http://phys.org/news269541294.html Electronics Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:00:02 EST news269541294 Typhoon Sanba made landfall in southern South Korea on Monday, Sept. 17 and was moving northeast bringing heavy rainfall, and gusty winds along its path. Sanba downed trees, and caused power outages, canceled flights and canceled ferries. NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Sanba on Sept. 17 after it made landfall and observed the large extent of its cloud cover from South Korea to eastern Siberia. http://phys.org/news267119457.html Space & Earth Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:51:04 EST news267119457 (Phys.org)—DARPA's Cheetah robot—already the fastest legged robot in history—just broke its own land speed record of 18 miles per hour (mph). In the process, Cheetah also surpassed another very fast mover: Usain Bolt. According to the International Association of Athletics Federations, Bolt set the world speed record for a human in 2009 when he reached a peak speed of 27.78 mph for a 20-meter split during the 100-meter sprint. Cheetah was recently clocked at 28.3 mph for a 20-meter split. The Cheetah had a slight advantage over Bolt as it ran on a treadmill, the equivalent of a 28.3 mph tail wind, but most of the power Cheetah used was to swing and lift its legs fast enough, not to propel itself forward.  http://phys.org/news266142553.html Electronics Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:30:15 EST news266142553 (Phys.org) -- An American team of researchers has concluded that a period of rapid-succession small earthquakes in Antarctica over a several month span back in 2002-2003 was likely due to a glacier passing over some rough terrain and its periodic nature likely came about because of the impact of ocean tides. The team has published a paper describing their observations and conclusions in the journal Nature Geoscience. http://phys.org/news264663781.html Space & Earth Mon, 20 Aug 2012 06:43:54 EST news264663781 Earthworms creep along the ground by alternately squeezing and stretching muscles along the length of their bodies, inching forward with each wave of contractions. Snails and sea cucumbers also use this mechanism, called peristalsis, to get around, and our own gastrointestinal tracts operate by a similar action, squeezing muscles along the esophagus to push food to the stomach. http://phys.org/news263743093.html Electronics Fri, 10 Aug 2012 02:47:37 EST news263743093 (Phys.org) -- Imagine being unable to attend work or school, simply because mobility and rugged terrain prohibits you from leaving your front door. A student group, BooGood Bicycles, is seeking to find an end this problem by providing sustainable hand-cycles to disabled individuals living in Africa. http://phys.org/news255685196.html Technology Tue, 08 May 2012 08:40:19 EST news255685196 (PhysOrg.com) -- Up till now researchers at Boston Dynamics have demonstrated four legged robots that appear meant to carry heavy loads as they tromp through and over rough terrain (e.g. Alpha Dog and Petman, LS3). Now it appears they’ve taken a different approach in looking to build robots that can move fast. And apparently, they mean really fast. In the demo video they show off their new robot named Cheetah breaking the unofficial land speed record by galloping at eighteen miles per hour on a treadmill. Cheetah looks very much like the animal it was named for, even arching it’s back as it picks up speed. But clearly with such a name, the team is aiming much higher. http://phys.org/news250251243.html Electronics Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:14:21 EST news250251243 (PhysOrg.com) -- Boston Dynamics has taken the wraps off its newest prototype combat escort, AlphaDog, which was developed with funding from DARPA and the US Marine Corps. Waltham, Massachusetts-based Boston Dynamics last week revealed the video that shows AlphaDog's capabilities for troop support. Those who have seen the video are calling the quadruped robot such names as Mule Poodle, Monster Mutt and BigDog-on-Steroids, but AlphaDog is its name. The robot is described further as the prototype for the formally named LS3. The latter stands for Legged Squad Support System. http://phys.org/news236834734.html Electronics Mon, 03 Oct 2011 05:00:01 EST news236834734 (PhysOrg.com) -- No one has ever won a race on peg legs if they were running against others with flexible legs. But, until now, mathematical locomotion models predicted that stiff legs were the most efficient. http://phys.org/news188840212.html Biology Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:38:02 EST news188840212