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Hi.
Powered exoskeletons and big arm robots have long been common in science fiction.
Just think of the power loader from aliens.
But now they're making their way into the real world.
This is the Guardian JT from Circles, and I'm going to go check it out see exactly what it does.
But I promise I won't harm any aliens.
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[SOUND]
This super size XS skeleton Is controlled by a human and it amplifies your reach and strength.
It's structured like a scaled up person, except each arm is seven feet long and can lift up to 500 pounds each.
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So what are some of the specific applications that the GT can be used for?
Some of the most interesting ones right now were in the nuclear decommissioning industry.
So when you think about we've got all these power plants that were built 30 or 40 years ago and many of them are at the end of their useful life.
So they need to be deconstructed or decommissioned.
In many cases you're talking about environments that are radioactive.
To varying levels of radioactivity.
Dangerous difficult small confined spaces.
But they need to be dismantled and just the same way they are constructed.
So taking things apart.
So if we can send a robot in that can use human tools.
For example human scale power tools.
And be able to go in and start cutting things, dismantling things, making them into smaller pieces so they can be easily transported and taken out of the power plant.
That's a tremendous opportunity.
Basically, again, keeping humans out of harm's way.
So these are just kind of very big construction projects, if you will, except it's taking something apart instead of putting it together.
Okay, question for you Are you the real life Tony stop.
No chance.
He's way cooler.
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This is Chris, is gonna walk me through the machine before I get to try it out myself.
So this is our shoulder joint right here.
This is a joint here that allows us to have rotation about the upper arm.
This is our elbow.
And down here we've got a joint that allows wrist rotation and then two more joints that allows the other two degrees of freedom of arrest.
All right, and when it comes to the fingers it's really a claw.
Yeah, so it's a claw that can do a few things.
It's got two fingers that can open and close like this, and then it's got a thumb that can close.
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To grip things, as well as swing out of the way, and allow kind of a flat palmed action if you need it.
So let's talk about the camera that's up there.
Okay.
So this is gonna give you, basically, it's almost like the eyes, right?
Yep.
It's positioned in the same way, so what cameras are these, and how are they talking to how you're seeing it as the operator?
So these cameras are placed in a position that mimics where your head might be if you were this big.
And it's got all these movements that a persons head would have.
So I can look side to side, I can look up and down.
And the spacing of the cameras, as you notice, is wider than a person's eyes because-
Yeah.
Remember, this is a scaled up person.
So we want to continue that magnification of a person in all respects that we can, so that when a person gets in all the scaling is similar to what they're used to.
There is an advantage of having the cameras here.
One is, you're not used to seeing arms out in front of you.
You used to seeing your own arms.
Yeah.
So when you're looking through the camera, these feel like your arms.
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Now it's time for Chris to get into position and show us just how precise this robot can be.
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Turn off the switch.
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Latch, to get that electrical box open.
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Close it.
Now there's a valve down here.
We're going to shut it off.
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Turn it back on.
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Now this Estop switch up here.
I'm gonna turn that on without breaking it.
Here we go, we got a blinking light again, blinking light up here.
Turn it back off, then I'm coming in, grabbing the cut-off tool, give it some power, let's cut this pipe.
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I'm gonna grab a hold of that pipe so it won't go anywhere after I cut the piece out.
[NOISE] Put the tool down.
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Okay, now I'm just gonna show some kinds of things I can do with my hand, I I can hand it off.
[NOISE] To the other hand.
Okay, I'll put it down on the ground to show that I can pick it back up.
[NOISE]
[NOISE]
Alright, here we go.
Now I'm done with it, let's throw it away.
[NOISE]
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Now it's my turn Because it's my first time, I won't get to use the saw unfortunately but I will get to try to lift this metal pipe off the cylinder and put it back on.
In general, moving the hands position is all you gotta do is move your hand where you want it to go.
But the controls for the grouper are down here.
This trigger finger right here will control the thumb of the gripper.
So when it's all the way out, that means your thumb is all the way open and swung around.
Yep.
As you start to squeeze it, it'll start to swing around.
And then at some point it will be all the way in, and then you just keep squeezing, and it will start to close.
And then this joystick up here in the.
Then using your thumb will actually control the width of the fingers and short use your finger to control the your thumb and your thumb-
To control your fingers.
All right I love it, it's all reversed.
and your thumb.
Brilliant, then I'm only gonna have the right arm on the left arm is just gonna be just straight out.
Left thumb will be locked.
Okay, let's do it.
Okay.
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All yours.
You got it
Wow, okay.
So it's following the movement of my arm exactly.
Wow, this feels crazy.
So I'm moving my hand back and forth, like try and give tyou a wave, hey.
If I move my arm out, My elbow, yeah, I can feel like, wow, it's so responsive, okay.
So now I'm gonna try and move the pipe.
All right, let's see if I can go down and get a good hold of the pipe.
Whoa!
Nice.
Okay, no, it's all right.
So I'm on the pipe, I'm gonna pull in.
Squeeze that trigger, lift it off.
Squeeze the trigger.
You got it.
All right, and now I'm just gonna lift.
Yeah.
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It's lifting Yes I did it .Yes Wow.
Its crazy .It's literally an extension of myself.
Doing everything that I am trying to do with my hand.
And I don't even have to think about it.
It's so bizarre.
This is so much fun.
Can I do this all day Lovely that nature.
[SOUND] We've quite got it, that one on [INAUDIBLE] Spring back, over all a bit.
And do it, and now release.
Hey.
Yeah, yes, invincible.
[LAUGH]
Wow, that's awesome.
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The GT is powered by batteries, diesel propane and it can run for more than seven hours at a time.
I can't give you the price though because each GT is custom built for every order.
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That was incredible.
I couldn't believe that I was controlling such a powerful robot and it felt so easy.
And I got it on the first try, which I didn't think I was gonna be able to do.
It was truly an incredible sensation, like I was moving my arm and once I kind of got over the fact that it was a robot, it just felt like an extension of my body with the same dexterity And everything that I could do with my hand normally.
Thanks so much for watching.
If you liked this episode, then I have covered exoskeletons before but a mechanical one.
So, you can click and you know where to find it.
[SOUND] Get away from it, Mitch.
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