Technology: Extending Man’s Grasp

Merely by turning his head, the pilot of an experimental Bell helicopter can cause a highly sensitive TV camera mounted in the nose of his craft to swivel in the same direction. And since the camera can “see” in the dark, its TV images, reflected onto special eyeglasses, give the pilot invaluable, owl-like vision at night.

To maneuver an agile four-legged “quadruped” truck that is being developed by General Electric for travel over rough terrain, the driver controls the vehicle’s front legs with hand-operated levers; the rear legs are moved by the driver’s own legs, which are strapped into control braces. Feedback circuits allow the driver to “feel” the traction on the ground beneath him.

These remarkable extensions of man’s grasp and vision are relatively simple examples of a relatively new and promising technology called “telefactoring” (doing something at a distance). Merely by adding miniaturized electronics and wideband communications, says Electrical Engineeer William Bradley, the pilot can be taken out of his cockpit, the driver out of his truck. The distance between them and their work can be extended across a continent. Eventually, Bradley told the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a more sophisticated form of telefactoring may replace human beings on many space flights—without replacing the judgments and actions that are now possible only if an astronaut is on board.

Robot in Space. In Bradley’s system, a ground-based astronaut would strap himself into a control harness or frame that would be a virtual duplicate of a telefactor aboard an orbiting spacecraft (see diagram). Should the astronaut want to adjust a cabin control, for example, he would reach his arm toward a knob on a duplicate of the spacecraft’s instrument panel. His every motion would be translated into electronic signals and transmitted to the telefactor in orbit. Servomechanisms on the telefactor would move its arm toward the actual spacecraft control panel. Feedback devices on the telefactor’s hands would enable the earthbound operator to feel just how strong a grasp they were exerting—allowing the robot to make adjustments without exerting damaging pressure on delicate instruments. Using the same system, Bradley says, a telefactor could work outside the ship, assembling solar-cell panels or erecting space platforms “as effortlessly as a child assembling Tinkertoys.”

Telefactors built with present skills and off-the-shelf equipment would come close to providing a human presence aboard a spacecraft without requiring the complex and bulky life-support systems that provide food, water and oxygen to astronauts. Because a telefactor is expendable, it could be used on missions too hazardous for man; its spacecraft would not require the retrorocket system, extra fuel and heat shield necessary for a safe return trip to earth.

Quarry on Mars. There are, however, some distinct limitations on the capabilities of Bradley’s mechanical man. Beyond about 30,000 miles, admits the imaginative engineer, round-trip time delay in the transmission and receipt of telemetry signals becomes a distinct drawback. “Realtime” human activity is impossible. If a telefactor operating on the surface of Mars were to spot a Martian running by, for example, its TV picture—traveling at the speed of light (186,000 miles per sec.)—would take about three minutes to reach the headset of its controller when Mars is closest to earth. Even if the controller were to respond immediately by reaching out to grab the Martian, another three minutes would elapse before his telemetered signals caused the telefactor to make its grab. By that time the quarry might well have vanished.

Bradley worked out his telefactoring plans while on the job at the Institute for Defense Analyses, an Arlington, Va., “think tank” that exists almost entirely on Defense Department contracts. The idea seemed so promising to DOD officials that they encouraged him to present it at the AIAA meeting, hoping to stimulate further development of telefactoring devices by private industry. That development, Bradley believes, is inevitable. He is already looking forward to the day when controllers will operate telefactor infantrymen from the safety of bunkers and casualties will be counted in machines, not men.