The Giraffe robot was designed for NPC Robotics to showcase the benefits of a robot that is equipped with a self-assembling pole attached to it.
The Giraffe contains a “ribbon-lift”, which spools out three metal ribbons that form into a rigid, triangular pole. This is capable of lifting a 50 pound load up to 15 feet in the air. Ribbon lifts are also made in larger sizes capable of supporting a 500 pound load 25 feet in the air as well.
This example shows a pan-tilt-zoom camera attached to the pole, however, it could just as easily be a lighting fixture, an antenna, a public broadcast device, a weather measurement instrument, or countless other ideas where a mobile, autonomous pole is needed.
The Giraffe is equipped to handle automatic linear actuators that self-level the robot before deploying the pole on sloped terrain.
Want to light a runway at night, on the fly? Deploy a small fleet of these robots, GPS equipped, with a runway light on top, and send them off on their own to automatically position themselves along the runway. There are countless possibilities for this technology.
The Market
Back in 2007, Military and civil service robots were currently the largest market segment for most robotics manufacturers. This created many emerging opportunities in autonomous surveillance and equipment setup.
Giraffe Features:
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NPC Robotics
2007