Laser-powered robot rock climbers
NOV 24, 2009
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.023870
NASA : One of three teams in a NASA competition to demonstrate power beaming technology won $900,000 in prize money last week.Seattle-based LaserMotive won the prize by using laser power to move a climber robot up a one-kilometer ribbon at a speed of about four meters a second, twice the speed needed to qualify for the prize.Two other teams also participated in the competition but fell short of the minimum speed needed to qualify for a share of the prize purse.The prize is meant to demonstrate wireless power transmission, a key technology needed for space elevators as well as other transportation applications. The competition is one of several that is part of NASA’s Centennial Challenges prize program .
© 2009. American Institute of Physics