Roboclimber consortium   Roboclimber     12 January 2005   The Roboclimber project was financed under the EU's Fifth Framework Programme CRAFT.   ESA made available innovative space technologies through its Technology Transfer Programme (TTP).     The following seven European companies, one research institute and one university formed the project group: ICOP, a civil construction company from Udine in Italy and prime contractor for the development D'Appolonia, member of ESA's Technology Transfer Programme's network of technology brokers and project responsible for the integration of the Roboclimber components TEVE, Italian slope consolidation firm with owner Roberto Zannini, one of the inventors of the innovative concepts for slope consolidation PMARlab, the laboratory of Design and Measurement for Automation and Robotics at the University of Genova designed the robot and participated in defining how to control the robot safely in three dimensions – a technique evolved directly from earlier experience in attitude control of spinning satellites and computation of spacecraft manoeuvres to reach stationary orbits. In addition PMARlab designed the innovative rod-house and robotic manipulator on board Roboclimber SAS, Space Applications Services from Belgium delivered the remote system for operating Roboclimber, a tailored version of the FAMOUS (Flexible Automation and Operations User Station) developed as a standard tool based upon a system delivered to ESA's robotics test bed in ESTEC in 1997. The same system was used to control the robotic arm on the Japanese Engineering Test Satellite 7 (ETS-VII), and the 3-kg micro-rover NANOKHOD developed for ESA's Technology and Research Programme MACLYSA, Spanish firm manufactured the four-legged robotic frame IAI-CSIS, the Spanish Institute of Industrial Automation (IAI) of the CSIS (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones científicas) was responsible for the on-board robotics control system COMACCHIO, an Italian leader in the design and construction of drilling machines developed the automatic drilling module NATTER, a small German company developed the hydraulic drivers and electro-hydraulic components. The Italian company Boito A.T.P. from Belluno provided the special 1.5 metre long steel rods used for the demonstration.     More information  •  Giant robot helps prevent landslides (http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM9R03AR2E_Benefits_0.html)  •  Space robot will help prevent landslides (http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM3WKZO4HD_Improving_0.html) Related links  •  ESA Technology Transfer Programme (http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/TTP2/index.html)  •  Technology Transfer - Down to Earth (http://www.esa.int/esapub/br/br175/br175.pdf)  •  ESA Technology Transfer - Spin-off Successes (http://www.esa.int/esapub/br/br152/br152e.html)