F-35 Scheduled to Serve, Protect
The process for a new military aircraft began in 1996 when several aerospace companies began a five year competition to secure the winning bid for the next generation aircraft fighter. In 2001, Lockheed-Martin was awarded the largest contract in U.S. military history, possibly exceeding $200 billion. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is scheduled to serve the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and eight cooperative international partners.
The JSF aircraft design has three variants: conventional takeoff and landing for the U.S. Air Force; aircraft carrier-suitable variant for the Navy; and short takeoff and vertical landing variant for the Marine Corps, the United Kingdom, and the Air Force.
Fast and Sporty… Environmentally-Friendly
When all you Need is a FRIEND
Developed at the University of Bremen in Germany, Project FRIEND II – Functional Robot with dexterous arm and user-frIENdly interface for Disabled people – is the successor of the FRIEND I system. The basic component of the Care-Providing FRIEND II is built from reliable industrial components, based on the wheelchair platform Nemo vertical – an electric wheelchair from Meyra.
The robotic arm/manipulator aspect of the FRIEND – the Light Weight Robotic Arm 3 (LWA3) seven degrees of freedom manipulator from Schunk – delivers the small manipulator wrist, the integrated force torque sensor in the wrist, and a manipulator body. The force-torque sensors, mounted at the robots wrist, perform force-torque-based reactive manipulative operations and are able to detect collisions.
This robotic arm is mounted on an automated panning arm so the arm can park behind the seat in order to navigate FRIEND in narrow passages. Equipped to the LWA3 is a prosthetic hand – SensorHand Speed from Otto Bock.
Get curated news on YOUR industry.
Enter your email to receive our newsletters.
Explore the June July 2010 Issue
Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.
Latest from Aerospace Manufacturing and Design
- You can still register for March’s Manufacturing Lunch + Learn!
- Ohio creates Youngstown Innovation Hub for Aerospace and Defense
- Tormach’s Chip Conveyor Kit for the 1500MX CNC Mill
- How to Reduce First Article Inspection Creation Time by 70% to 90% with DISCUS Software
- Jackson Square Aviation orders 50 Airbus A320neo aircraft
- Beckhoff's motion control automation solutions
- #40 - Lunch & Learn with Fagor Automation
- Air Methods to purchase up to 28 Bell helicopters