Laser to Power Remotely + Heavy-Lifting Robot

choi

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(1) Beam It Up  |  Energy: Laser beams can deliver energy to machines through thin air. This might be a good way to power drone aircraft or a space elevator. Economist, Mar 10, 2011.
http://www.economist.com/node/18304136?story_id=18304136
("The laser, aimed from the ground at photovoltaic cells mounted on the [drone] Pelican’s underside, charged the chopper’s battery")

Note: The article states, "LaserMotive, the Seattle company that designed the Pelican’s laser system, won $900,000 by powering a 5kg robot up almost a kilometre of cable dangling from a manned helicopter. LaserMotive’s beam struck a photovoltaic panel on the robot, generating electricity that turned a set of wheels gripping the cable.

(a) The close-up of the cable-climbing "robot":
LaserMotive Wins $900,000 from NASA in Space Elevator Games. NASA, Nov 9, 2011.   
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/status_reports/power_beam.html
(b) A video:
http://www.cartanova.ca/green-business-blog/item/65-laser-motive-space-power-mosquitos-and-more
(c) LaserMotive
http://lasermotive.com/

The web site does not have the stuff mentioned above.

(2) Caught in a BEAR Hug |  Robotics: A newly designed robot can recover casualties from battlefields, and might also be able to make itself useful to soldiers in other ways. Economist, Mar 10, 2011.
http://www.economist.com/node/18304200?story_id=18304200

Note: A video clip from Vecna Technologies:
http://www.vecna.com/robotics/solutions/bear/index.shtml

I saw this robot in another video about a year or two ago.
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