Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by CoolHand on Tuesday September 06 2016, @08:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the historical-dummy dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The Power-Driven Articulated Dummy is a strange aside in NASA's space race story, and now you can own it. The space suit testing robot is going up for grabs as part of RR Auctions' Remarkable Rarities Auction.

[...] The 104-kilogram (230-pound) PDAD was designed between 1963 and 1965 to be representative of the average American male. Its height was adjustable between 5'5" and 6'2", and it was equipped with a circulatory system of nylon tubes. Oil flowing through these tubes powered the 35 actuators, which allowed for the replication of the motion of the body with realistic force. Sensors on the robot's aluminium body could measure the forces applied by the prototype suits.

Only two of the robots were ever made before the program was shut down. The nylon circulatory system could not handle the hydraulic pressures required to move the robot without leaking. So NASA defunded the project and moved on.

One of the robots is owned by the Smithsonian. The other is missing an arm and some of its wiring is damaged, but it's still expected to fetch over $80,000. Online ore-bidding on the auction will commence on September 15, and the live auction itself will take place on September 26.

YouTube video here.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Tuesday September 06 2016, @09:29PM

    by dyingtolive (952) on Tuesday September 06 2016, @09:29PM (#398299)

    Hey, it still holds up for me. I'm about 230 lbs and adjustable from 5'5" to 6'2 so long as I am allowed to bend at the knees or stand on my tippy toes, as appropriate.

    --
    Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2