Military to use bomb-sniffing robots

As it increases its use of robots in war zones, the military will begin using a explosive-sniffing version that will allow soldiers to better detect roadside bombs, which account for more than 70 percent of U.S. casualties in Iraq .

There are nearly 5,000 robots in Iraq and Afghanistan , up from about 150 in 2004. Soldiers use them to search caves and buildings for insurgents, detect mines and ferret out roadside and car bombs.

Foster-Miller Inc., of Waltham, Mass., recently delivered 1,000 new robots to the military. IRobot cranked out 385 robots last year, up from 252 in 2005.

Fido, produced at a GEM City Manufacturing and Engineering plant, represents an improvement in bomb-detecting military robots, said Col. Terry Griffin, project manager of the Army/Marine Corps Robotic Systems Joint Project Office at Redstone Arsenal, Ala.

Metal-free motor makes robotic biopsies safe for use with MRI

Engineers at the Johns Hopkins Urology Robotics Lab have developed a motor without metal or electricity that can safely power remote-controlled robotic surgical tools used for cancer biopsies and therapies guided by magnetic resonance imaging. The motor that drives the devices can be so precisely controlled by computer that movements are steadier and more precise than a human hand.

The motor is constructed of nonmagnetic and dielectric materials such as plastics, ceramics, and rubbers and is electricity free. It is driven by compressed air and fibre optic technology is used for communications, so that all electric components are located away from the MRI scanner. Six of the motors are used in a surgical robot designed to carry out precise MRI-guided surgical procedures