Today, the techo-scavengers known as Survival Research Laboratories are infamous across the globe. Despite the obstacles put before them by a growing number of authorities that do not share their aedgy aesthetic, SRL continues to put on shows whenever possible.
Remote controlled Flying platforms using pulse-jet engines or enclosed-propellers are in the planning and experimentation stages. Deso Molnar (the owner and pilot of the Jesus Head Jet powered GO CART in the recent SRL performance) is working on initial development.
A WheeloCopter is assembled and will be ready for testing in about 6 weeks. This radical concept in wheeled vehicles applies the principles of rotor craft to a two dimensional plane. It's as difficult to describe as it will be for an audience to look at. See photo for more confusion. (not included)
Parts have been collected for computer-controlled Hydraulic Walking Leg Sets, capable of supporting and moving objects weighing 40 or more tons, in the manner of groups of foraging ants. The power plant is a 175 hp Boeing gas turbine engine. This will be SRL's first mobile jet engine powered device.
The Hand-O'-God is a giant spring loaded hand cocked by an air-cylinder with 8 tons of pressure. All parts are secured and construction is underway.
A JET-ENGINE POWERED WHEELED VEHICLE has been constructed and was debuted in the _Ultimate Doom_ show. It uses a simple jet engine fabricated from a modified high pressure axial turbocompressor driven furnace burner with a Lear Jet combustor can . It uses a Kawasaki 750 motorcycle engine to power the turbine and associated pumps. A B-29 turbo compressor has recently been acquired and is being installed to add more thrust.
A 175 hp BOEING GAS TURBINE engine was set up on a pivoting frame and operated in the May 28th performance as an audience misery enhancer. It was pointed at the nearby crowd and swung to and fro. A strong smelling chemical was added to the diesel fuel at one point, adding to the desired effect. An afterburner fuel injection system has been added, allowing it to operate as a huge blow torch.
A 10 ft long Teleoperated Hydraulic Arm fitted with precision servo-valves and controlled from up to one mile away with an exoskeleton has been constructed and was used as an attachment for the screw machine in the May 28th performance. The exoskeleton controller attaches to the operators arm and precisely mimics the wearer's motions. It can be configured with an optional stereo head mounted vision system which is controlled by the movements of the wearer's head.
A portable Foam Generating Machine has recently been constructed. It uses standard high expansion fire-fighting foam and can generate 1500 cubic feet of thick free-standing foam per minute. Primarily intended for use on audiences.
A Six-Legged Running Machine (which will have a computer controlled active suspension system) was completed and featured for the first time at the SF Museum Groundbreaking performance. The leg drive system is modeled after the chain drive used on the Hughes Armaments Chain Cannon for sear bolt actuation.
A High Pressure Air Launcher, originally developed by NASA for use in avalanche control, is the basis for SRL's first teleoperated machine. It is capable of automatically loading and firing 26 beer can sized projectiles weighing 2 lbs each at 500 feet per second. The operator aims by head movement, viewing the target through a high resolution camera mounted on the gun frame. This device is CO2 gas operated, and so circumvents existing Federal Firearms Laws. A stripped down version was transported by air and used in a ritual assassination of Simon Leis, (the sheriff of Hamilton county, who busted Dennis Barrie for the Robert Mapplethorpe photo show) at the _Mechanica_ show, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
A 100 kilo Joule directable plasma discharge weapon or TASER, designed by Greg Leyh and built at SRL, was successfully tested and used in Europe in 1992. It is currently being rebuilt as an improved design without the sometimes troublesome spark gaps. We are currently looking for 50 kilojoule low impedance capacitors to increase the already formidable power of this device. Contact Greg Leyh at 641-8065 or 647-4960.
To give some idea of the sheer perversity and power of an SRL performance, the noise from a recent show at the Striercher Herbst Festival in Graz, Austria so alarmed hundreds of local residents who were unaware of the show that they called the emergency services the police, the army, and the mayor. A mere 50 km from the border of the former Yugoslavia, the Austrians thought that they were being attacked by Serbs. Even the Austrian Minister of Defense had trouble believing the police that it was only an art performance. While the Austrian army readied itself for war, the Defense Minister sent 20 police officers to the performance with decibel meters and other inscription devices to record the sound levels from the show. They recorded 108 decibels one hundred meters away. The local newspaper later accused SRL of giving the city and the military a terrible case of Kriegsangst, or War Fear. Pauline judged the show a huge success.
(As much as all this may resemble satire, it is for real.)
For more info, http://robotics.eecs.b erkeley.edu/%7Epaulos/SRL/