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Robotics + Car = Hallucigenia 165

Posted by timothy from the street-drug dept.
News for nerds writes "I4U has news about a new transportation concept, called The Hallucigenia 01, which is a working 1/5 scale vehicle prototype, designed by Japanese design firm Leading Edge Design. PC Watch (Japanese) has photos and movies. Its 8 wheels are independent robotic arms controlled by their own satellite CPUs, interconnected to the main CPU by an internal LAN."
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Robotics + Car = Hallucigenia More

Robotics + Car = Hallucigenia

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  • What ever happened to style? (Score:3, Funny)

    by Vokbain ( 657712 ) * on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:10PM (#7614699) Homepage
    It looks like a spider crossed with a skateboard. I wouldn't drive that.

  • What a name (Score:4, Funny)

    by OSUJoe ( 549620 ) <monkeymonkeyjoejoe.gmail@com> on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:12PM (#7614715)
    Are they implying that the idea for the car came from a night spent tripping on acid.. or... ??

    • Re:What a name (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Hallucigenia [wikipedia.org] is a fossil. Very old, early Cambrian, I believe. And very weird, hence the name. Check the logo.

    • Re:What a name (Score:5, Informative)

      by YOU LIKEWISE FAIL IT ( 651184 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:37PM (#7614835) Homepage Journal

      Judging from the shape of the logo, I suspect this is a reference to Hallucigenia sparsa, a reasonably famous critter they dug out of the Burgess Shale, missassigned as part of genus Canadia and was later renamed and reassigned by Simon Conway Morris. More here. [wikipedia.org] Article links to a possible reconstruction which seems to be down for me.

      Paleobiology. This is a nerdy conveyance if I ever saw one.

      YLFI
  • Then you can use it as your casket after you smear your brains all over the windshield during a crash.
    • Make it out of something more durable

      Since you are so fluent in Japanese, please tell the rest of us precisely what it is constructed of and why you think it is not a sufficient material. I assume you are also a structural and/or materials engineer and therefore have significant subject knowledge.
      • I make no claim to be fluent in Japanese.

        The Hallucigenia 01 shown on the pcwatch page is a 1/5 model and is not necessarily made of the same material a full-size version would be.

        The Toyota PM which I have seen first hand seems to be made a fiberglass polymer around an aluminum frame. The canopy is made of hard plastic.

        None of that information is on the site linked to in the story, though.
        • The Toyota PM which I have seen first hand seems to be made a fiberglass polymer around an aluminum frame. The canopy is made of hard plastic.

          Interesting. FYI Audi has been selling passenger cars (currently the Audi A8, S8 and the A2) for over 10 years now which are entirely constructed of aluminum. No steel anywhere in the frame - 100% aluminum construction, and they are some of the safest cars in the world. The marketing name for it is the "Audi Space Frame" (ASF).

          Obviously the design plays a hu

  • I don't get it (Score:4, Insightful)

    by TWX ( 665546 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:14PM (#7614726)
    Why does it need to have multiple computers networked? Doesn't this add latency that could be very dangerous at high speed? Wouldn't one computer, rather than several, with the proper sensory and control hardware be a better choice? Will I only use question marks to end sentences in this post?

    • Re:I don't get it (Score:5, Funny)

      by Prof. Pi ( 199260 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:17PM (#7614741)
      Why does it need to have multiple computers networked? Redundancy in case of failure. You see, they'll be running Windows.
      • > > Why does it need to have multiple computers networked?

        > Redundancy in case of failure. You see, they'll be running Windows.

        Ah.

        Wait, but if all of the computers are running at the same time, wouldn't you multiply the odds that at least one of the computers would fail? If there's a 5% chance that one computer will fail, would that make there a 30% chance that one of six would fail?

        I hope it's not an n + 1 type of redundancy, else the driver is just screwed...
        • By that logic, 21 computers would fail with a 105% chance. I can't remember the exact math for multiplying those statistics (I've blocked statistics from my memory), but it isn't simple addition. =)
        • If there's a 5% chance that one computer will fail, would that make there a 30% chance that one of six would fail?

          With one computer, you have a 95% chance of having a functional computer. With six computers, you have a 1-0.05^6 = 99.999998% chance of having a functional computer.

    • Re:I don't get it (Score:5, Funny)

      by razberry636 ( 601469 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:57PM (#7614969)
      Wouldn't one computer, rather than several, with the proper sensory and control hardware be a better choice?
      The eight independent robots can separate at will. They join together and magically work in unison to form megaHallucigenia .

      It also has a really cool glowing sword and can shoot plastic missiles.

    • Quoth the poster:

      Why does it need to have multiple computers networked? Doesn't this add latency that could be very dangerous at high speed?

      Yes, there would be latency. However, it would be miniscule, especially in this scenario, well, assuming, as I do, that the CPUs would each only be dealing with the affairs of their one robotic wheel and axle assembly and recieving orders from the UberCPU. Think about it this way: when you play CS over the net, there is some latency, correct? Depending on connect

      • I see in your future....a career...as a cheesy serial radio announcer...

        At least you see something in my future that could be called a career...
    • Doesn't this add latency that could be very dangerous at high speed?

      "latency" is a vauge term. There's "latency" in that information can only travel at c between two points; there's "latency" in that the car's controls aren't responsive. And, there's "latency" in that a human needs to see and react to what's around them.

      Even a modest-speed LAN can have plenty of bandwidth to keep up with a car's latency issues--assuming, of course, that the darn thing is wired correctly.

      An F-22, for example, is all fl

  • Movies? On slashdot? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Steve 'Rim' Jobs ( 728708 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:15PM (#7614731) Journal
    Soon we will hear the deep voice of Darth Vader saying "I find your lack of bandwidth disturbing..."

    Why did I think of that? I dunno, maybe it's because the car looks kinda like Darth's friggen head..

    • "I find your lack of bandwidth disturbing..."

      And the poor server gets on its knees, gasping.

      I already got a "OPEN Hallucigenia Web Site
      Leading Edge Design" on the site, and nothing else.... oh, the /. force!!!

  • Wow! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    How can I give these guys money?! Someone tell me quick... nevermind, the drugs are losing their effect.
  • Looks like a mouse droid to me. Meep, meep.
  • That's right, "Hallucigenia"! You can get really drunk or drop acid until you Hallucinate, and our Hallucigenia will take you home safely.

    Bet your puny Explorer can't do that!

    Hallucigenia! Yeah, now that's the nice schnizzit!

  • Wow (Score:2, Funny)

    by nnnneedles ( 216864 )
    Its 8 wheels are independent robotic arms controlled by their own satellite CPUs, interconnected to the main CPU by an internal LAN." Got Bloat?

    Do the wheels play multiplayer Quake with each other in their spare time?

    Is the communication between the wheel and the brake done using XML protocols?

    Do the wheels send an email to your mobile phone when your refrigerator has run out of milk?

    Critical Joke Possiblities OVERLOAD

    Brain Terminated.

    • Its 8 wheels are independent robotic arms controlled by their own satellite CPUs, interconnected to the main CPU by an internal LAN."

      This also means we can slashdot the thing. :)

      • Hey guys! Check it out! I just modded ALL of my wheels with chrome trim and windows with LED backlighting and... oh my god! Where's the brakes?! Why didn't I mod in some brakes?! Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaa#!DG9059n!#$c 4341[NO CARRIER]

  • Yes. Great. More to go wrong. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by wowbagger ( 69688 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:25PM (#7614781) Homepage Journal
    One of the central tenents of all good engineering is "As complex as is needed, and NO MORE." Any more you add after that point is just "more to go wrong".

    Eight wheels, eight suspension systems, eight control systems. True, perhaps the system is designed with failure in mind, but think about owning this as a vehicle for normal use - how often will you be taking in to be fixed, because one or more wheels have broken?

    It's just like the fools who buy 4 wheel drive SUVs when what they need is a minivan - now they have what amounts to a whole extra powertrain to go wrong.

    Now, if the intent was for this to be used in unusual circumstances (forestry work, extreme rough road work [nps.gov] or the like) I could believe this was "as complex as needed but no more".

  • Nothing New (Score:3, Interesting)

    by cybercomm ( 557435 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:25PM (#7614784) Homepage Journal
    GM also came up with the "skateboard" design, the only difference that i see is this one has more wheels, more gdgets, and better control; which may be good for suspension and stability, but it makes me wonder as to the economy of producing a full scale unit, due to cost, complexity, maintenance and later on replacement (as if replacing 4 tires wasnt expensive enough). Not to say that this vehicle doesent have a bright future, heck, im guessing this will make one helluva city car. They did borrow one good thing from GM though, for if this car gets mass produced the owners or factory, will be able to change "skins" (IE top part of the car) intermittently.

    • GM built the Autonomy (skateboard) for one reason (Score:1, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      To prove that a mass production fuel cell powered automobile won't sell. This will go just like the EV1. Great concept. Great design. Zero marketing. Ludicrous rules such as "lease only". And then they will go to the government and complain that they can't sell them but the technology they created will help a gas powered full size pickup get 1 more mile per gallon.

      And then the Japanese will do it and once again steal the American auto industry's lunch just like the 80's with the quality gap (which st
    • GM also came up with the "skateboard" design,

      I bet it's not as cool as the BMW Streetcarver [howstuffworks.com]. I want one, but no doubt I'd just write it off with my dismal 'skillz'.

      Seriously, I would love some kind of powered skateboard, as they're very good for getting around tight parts of town ( and being able to pick them up is very convenient... ), but they're going to have to make them very easy riding ( perhaps with that suspension system from Snow Crash ) before it will ever take off with the masses.

      YLFI

  • What is hallucigenia ? (Score:5, Informative)

    by andy666 ( 666062 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:31PM (#7614814)
    It is a little animal found in the Burgess Shale of Canada. See the Stephen Jay Gould Book "Wonderful Life" for details. Here is a picture:

    http://www.karencarr.com/gallery_hallucigenia.html

  • parallel parking (Score:2, Interesting)

    by grey3 ( 160961 )
    From looking at the pictures, it seems that the wheels can rotate perpendicular to the length of the vehicle. Should make parallel parking a breeze.

    • Re:parallel parking (Score:5, Informative)

      by Scrameustache ( 459504 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:43PM (#7614873) Homepage Journal
      From looking at the pictures, it seems that the wheels can rotate perpendicular to the length of the vehicle. Should make parallel parking a breeze.

      From looking at the videos, it does.

      It also goes sideways, up and down a bit, and can walk (akwardly) on them 4 at a time.
      Does all sort of crazy cool stuff.

    • From looking at the pictures, it seems that the wheels can rotate perpendicular to the length of the vehicle. Should make parallel parking a breeze.

      Parellel parking is already a breeze, assuming you:

      1. Are not blind
      2. Have a minimal amount of hand-eye coordination and depth-perception.
      3. Are not driving a Maibotsu Monstrosity

      I've never had a problem parallel parking any car I've ever driven (well, with the exception of large trucks, but I don't take those where I would be parallel parking them).

  • Gah think of the road noise.

    It would stop on dime tho...

  • I say we name it Shelob...

  • This think should be able to WALK! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by gacp ( 601462 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:43PM (#7614878)
    I don't know wheter this model can or not, and the wheels are toys in this model, but the think should be able to turn the wheels flat and use them as rubber feet and WALK over obstacles. I like the idea. Complicated gizmo, though.

  • Mirror of Movies & Pictures (Score:4, Informative)

    by Ironix ( 165274 ) <steffen@norMONETgren.ca minus painter> on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:46PM (#7614898) Homepage

    In preparation for the sites inevitable /.ing, I have prepared a mirror of the pictures and movies.

    Mirrors:
    Pictures [mac.com]
    Movies [mac.com]

  • The Hallucigenia (Score:3, Informative)

    by zr-rifle ( 677585 ) <zedr@@@zedr...com> on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:47PM (#7614904) Homepage
    Hallucigenia means "Dream Children" and is a name of a small worm belonging to the Burgess-Shale collection of fossils [wikipedia.org]

    Researcher Simon Conway Morris had probably been working overnight a little too often, since he mistook the fossil for an eerie monster-like creature with a blob like head and spikes for legs, thus dubbing it "Hallucigenia". See the picture [yvonnenavarro.com]. Looks a little bit like Alien, doesn't it?

    It was only in 1991 that this strange little animal's anatomy was correctly interpreted as a worm, the Onychophore, with spikes on it's back and tentacles or, better, pseudopods for walking (and probably eating).

    I wonder if the pictures of this car are upside down...

  • ummm wow (Score:3, Funny)

    by britrock ( 684244 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:48PM (#7614911)
    Well, it does a great job of navigating over the rough terrain of that flat smooth table top. Whats the point again?

  • But I'm a Plus_size guy. (Score:3, Funny)

    by EmbeddedJanitor ( 597831 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @10:48PM (#7614912)
    It was a long time since I was 1/5th scale!
  • Also it can drive through a slalom without changing the direction of the body. I hope they include standard travel sickness bags, because that's just begging to make people throw up.

  • Actually its easier (Score:4, Informative)

    by bpb213 ( 561569 ) <bpbyrne AT gmail DOT com> on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @11:03PM (#7615004)
    The ability to travel in one direction while independantly rotating in another (and it looks like this eight legged freak can do that to an extent) is called holonomic motion. Robotics people have been doing this for years with something called an omniwheel. Basically its a wheel that contains many other smaller wheels that roll perpendicular to the axis of the big wheel.
    We can do holonomic motion with as little as three wheels (popularlized by the palm robots from carnegie melon). Of course, four wheeled models have been made.
    And I really think that it is from the four omniwheel concept that will really revolutionize travel, not this eight legged, asking to break down, feat of engineering.

    (Of course, mandatory info links:
    The wheels found on the palm robot:
    http://www.acroname.com/robotics/parts/R76 -4CM-ROL LER.html
    Cheaper, and larger, omniwheels:
    http://www.omniwheel.com/cgi-bin/plug ins/MivaEmpre sas/miva?plugins/MivaMerchants/merchant.mvc+Screen =PROD&Store_Code=KCWD&Product_Code=2052-38&Categor y_Code=Transwheel2
    The above are one of each, there are many more on both sites. Just start url hacking :) )

  • Interface (Score:2, Insightful)

    by bpb213 ( 561569 )
    Ok, one thing I think drivers expect, is the following interface:

    One steering wheel.
    One gas pedal
    One brake pedal.
    Some gauge things, that lie about how fast you are really going.
    And if you drive a manual, like me:
    One clutch.
    One shifter.

    Now, how do you modify something simple and ingrained like the above interface, which btw has stood since Ford put out the model T?

    Answer, you cant. Result: customers have to learn an entirely new control mechanism. Very bad.
    • Except the Gas Pedal was really a lever. Perhaps you need a ride in a Real Model T [hfmgv.org] and not whatever you think you might be talking about.
    • Maybe I missed something, but where did it show any other user interface? Or did you think those eight wheels each had their own controls?
    • Any good Interface Designer could take your requirements and make this vehicle work within them.

      In fact to pare down that list of expected interface items:

      Steering wheel
      Gas pedal
      Break pedal
      Speedometer

      Let's see what other interfaces people have adapted to their normal driving routines though... just to see how adaptable they really are.

      - Radio with tuning knobs then sliders then up/down buttons plus presets, volume, bass, treble, balance
      - Tape deck/CD deck with programming buttons
      - Air conditioning / hea
    • I think an aircraft type yoke would be an easy to learn interface. To go forward, push the yoke forward. To turn while stopped or moving, rotate the yoke like a steering wheel (simple learning curve here). To go sideways, stop going forward and tilt the entire yoke the desired direction of travel. A pedal could be used to switch from highway driving mode to stair climbing mode (great for getting unstuck in downtown gridlocks near a public park ;-). A curb and pedestrian path would be no problem except f
  • Seen modified in the center here:
    http://www.bbakira.co.uk/animevmanga/gangs. htm

    or here on the cover of the 3rd Manga volume:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/156971525 4/ref=sib _dp_pt/102-3299208-5287367#reader-link

    This car would be great...
    more control to the robots the better
  • Imagine 13 year old Jimmy saying saying to his friend, "My neighbor's got hallucigenia in his garage. Oh yeah, every once in a while he takes it out and we go on a trip!"
    • Sexy Pants said:bImagine 13 year old Jimmy saying saying to his friend, "My neighbor's got hallucigenia in his garage. Oh yeah, every once in a while he takes it out and we go on a trip!" Reply:

      And then the next door neighbor blows Jimmy's Dad's head off - just like in American Beauty.

  • We can now safely increase earth's people-capacity by 2 or 3 fold. 20 billion babies is not out-of-the-question. This is a very good thing, I believe.

  • What I really like about Japan... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Jeremi ( 14640 ) on Tuesday December 02, 2003 @11:54PM (#7615352) Homepage
    ... is that Japanese engineers are allowed to explore interesting and creative new technology designs, despite every armchair critic in the world immediately telling them how stupid/unsafe/infeasible/unnecessary their prototype is.


    That's why they'll eventually have their giant killer robots, while we're still optimizing the super-sized cup-holder layout for our pickup trucks.

  • From what I can tell from the pictures all those individual arms leave the car without any clearance. You would have be drving the car on a perfectly smooth road. A pothole or debris in the road would cause major problems.

  • The new industrial revolution ii? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by t0qer ( 230538 ) on Wednesday December 03, 2003 @12:09AM (#7615457) Homepage Journal
    The new industrial revolution part ii

    In my [slashdot.org]
    previous post on the new industrial revolution I discussed how the impact of
    robotics and cad design would result in more variety seen on the road.
    This post will focus on the technological impact these will have on car features
    and safety.


    1 wheel is good, 2 wheels are better, 4 are better still. When you
    start to go into 8 wheel designs you start to run into problems with friction
    (due to bad wheel alignment). This isn't noticeable on vehicles carrying
    large mass (such as semi trucks) because the momentum of the mass keeps the
    vehicle going in a straight line, but on small less than 2 ton vehicles one
    wheel out of alignment would be very noticeable. Although technology
    exists to re-align your tires on the fly exists, current auto makers have yet to
    implement that type of self repair into their vehicles. Instead they rely
    on good old physics and mechanical engineering to figure out how best to tune
    the suspension for maximum performance.


    With robotics and sensors implemented mechanical suspension systems will be
    obsolete. Cars like this one will make adjustments on the fly to suite current
    road conditions, instead of the specialized approach used by automakers today.
    If you want to go really fast, you buy a car with a big engine, low to the
    ground. If you expect to be driving on rough terrain you buy a 4wd vehicle
    with adequate ride clearance. Shouldn't transportation be able to adapt to
    it's environment?


    The main reason automakers take this specialized approach is so they can
    break the car market into different segments. Instead of creating a cheap, one
    size fits all vehicle we get many choices that are basically the same ideas all
    rehashed in one form or another so they can appeal to a wider audience. Jim bob
    likes his ford f150, soccer mom likes her GMC suburban, Gary geek loves his
    prius hybrid. For the most part though, all these cars still have the same
    wheels, drive train, suspension as the other does. How can one justify
    that as truly different?


    Because of our new industrial revolution and the rising computation power of
    electronics, we'll start seeing things like self driving cars as standard
    equipment. This will in turn drive down the prices of material logistics
    for manufacturing plants as they will no longer have to rely on teamsters unions
    to deliver materials or finished products to market. With robotic factories and
    robotic delivery bringing the labor cost down to near zero, hopefully we will
    see the prices of these new vehicles drop in line with that of the manufacturing
    costs. An added benefit to the consumer will be the inclusion of these new high
    tech features as standard option packages.


    Right now is a transition time to this new industrial revolution. I
    know in the long run my children will benefit from both the choice and low price
    of these internationally produced goods. As more of the world produces a
    product, their need for this product increases as well, whether it be cars, IT
    services, computers, or what not. Demand creates necessity, which turns into
    invention.


    We won't see much of the old technology on the road in 20 years. By then the
    57 Chevy will be 66 years old, old enough to collect social security if it still
    exists. I think the car of the future wont look anything like the car of
    the present because of all the variety that will exist.

  • J1850, CAN... nothing special about that. Cars have had "internal LANs" for decades.

    The interaction is certainly becoming more pervasive, though: Don't try removing your factory stereo in the upcoming models, as you car will not work correctly (No, Windows is NOT involved, either)

  • I'd like to see.. (Score:3, Funny)

    by trybywrench ( 584843 ) on Wednesday December 03, 2003 @12:17AM (#7615518)
    the japanese take on the club sandwich. I bet it's smaller and more efficient.
    • the japanese take on the club sandwich. I bet it's smaller and more efficient.

      What? Have you never seen temaki [hisshosushi.com] (hand rolls)? Carbs, protein, and great seasoning in a convenient hand-held form. It's like a club sandwich, but smaller and more efficient. Or maybe it's more like a sub/hoagie/hero/grinder. Well, it's like both...but better.
      • It would help the comparison out if temaki and club sandwiches actually shared even just one ingredient. You might as well compare Indian samosas or seasoned pork tacos.

        Now having been to Japan, I can say that their club sandwiches are smaller, though I don't know how you measure their efficiency.
  • ..run fast enough to avoid a /.ing?


    And yeah, I say it's a mouse droid.
  • You have to be on hallucinagens to want to own one if those things. It's extinction can be predicted with good accuracy.

  • They have cars kinda like this in Heavy Weather, by Bruce Sterling. The sucky part of it, though, was that when the car's OS crashed, well, you got a really dramatic reminder of the origin of the 'crash' metaphor. So the software has to be stable, and when it fails, it has to fail gracefully, or you're in trouble, especially on the highway.

    It brings new meaning to the phrase "Blue Screen of Death." Pray it doesn't use embedded Windows.

  • But isn't the central "problem" of transportation the power plant? All the degrees of freedom motion is cool, but what's the problem that it's solving? Wouldn't it still need to be powered by ICE, hybrid or battery?
  • ...when it comes to potholes.

    Just imagine driving that thing through Midtown...

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