(Credit:
Carnegie Mellon University)
Carnegie Mellon University will upgrade its 6.5-ton robot mobile, the "Crusher," by adding advanced suspension and hybrid-electric innards as part of a $14.4 million Army grant meant to push the envelope for unmanned ground vehicles.
The project, a result of more than two decades of robotics research by the university's National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC), will demonstrate how advanced vehicle and navigation technology can solve transportation challenges like those encountered by supply convoys in Iraq, according to the university (PDF).
Onboard sensors and a program called PerceptOR allow the vehicle to perceive and autonomously navigate in complex, off-road environments by fusing geometric and color sensors, GPS, odometry, and other data. It can also integrate a UAV, or "Flying Eye," that floats ahead of ground vehicles "to detect holes and other hazards."
"We're delighted that NREC will play a key role in showing how advanced autonomous vehicles work in Future Combat Systems settings," NREC Director John Bares said in the press release. He predicts the Crusher will be used in convoy roles at first, then tactical ones. "In 5 to 10 years, we should see robots working alongside our troops to protect them and help with tasks in the field."
This UGV (unmanned ground vehicle) builds on its DARPA-funded predecessor, the Spinner (PDF). Both capitalize on the absence of human crews, which means larger payloads of up to 8,000 pounds. It's powered by electric motors embedded in each of the vehicle's wheels that get their juice from a hybrid-turbo diesel generator charged by lithium-ion battery. Top speed is said to be 26 miles per hour.
The aluminum and titanium hull rides on state-of-the-art suspension and is protected by a steel skid plate, all of which allows it to move smoothly over large ditches, man-made barriers, piles of boulders, stumps, and other vehicles.
The National Institute of Health has given a group of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh a $426,000 grant to study the effectiveness of a watch for measuring stress.
The eWatch is a giant wristwatch that is both a sensor device and a computer.
It measures sounds, motion, ambient light and location of the environment, as well as the skin temperature, health status and activity level of the wearer.
The device was developed by Daniel Siewiorek, director of the Human-Computer Interaction Institute in Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science, and Asim Smailagic, research professor in Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering.
The study itself, led by University of Pittsburgh professor of psychology Thomas Kamarck, will use the eWatch to determine specifically what factors constitute stress for an individual and "quantify how stressors affect one's daily life, as well as to pinpoint when these effects begin and when they end."
Previous studies have shown that people who report that they have more stressful lifestyles also have higher rates of illness such as heart disease. But it's been hard to pinpoint detailed information on how stressful experiences affect individuals on a moment-to-moment basis long-term, according to Carnegie Mellon's statement on the project.
To that end, study participants will wear the eWatch for five days and answer up to 3 minutes worth of questions asked by the eWatch every 45 minutes.
The questions will be things like 'Working hard?' and 'Happy?' with a 'yes' or 'no' response possible.
Nano Krispie Man
(Credit: The Mattress Factory/Maya)Carnegie Mellon University would like to give families in the Pittsburgh area the chance to build a robot.
In celebration of the city's 250th anniversary in 2008, the Robotics Institute at CMU wants to inspire people with Robot 250, in which citizens will have access to robot parts and educational how-to materials.
The program, which started this summer as a series of community events, will run through 2009 and focus on robotics education around the themes of the environment, neighborhood and play, and history and heritage.
"Our goal is to raise the technical literacy of the entire southwestern Pennsylvania area as part of the coming celebration," said Anne Watzman, director of media relations at Carnegie Mellon's School of Computer Science.
Already, the project has seen some interesting takes. Who ever thought that a robot could be not only partially edible, but also tasty?
Dancing robots made of Rice Krispies Treats and robotic cucumber hands were made through an event hosted by a CMU computer scientist, Maya, a design consultancy and technology research lab, and Mattress Factory, a Pittsburgh contemporary-art museum, as part of the Community Open Studios component of Robot 250.
"I think that angle between art and technology is great, and putting 10- or 11-year-old kids (together) with twentysomething computer geeks and 40- or 50-year-olds was great. We pulled together as a team," Mickey McManus, CEO of Maya, said in an e-mail.
Cucumber robotic hand works from a servo at its wrist.
(Credit: The Mattress Factory/Maya)Several others robots made through the program will be chosen to become part of an art installation of robots across the city, along the lines of Boston's Cavalcade of Cod and many cities' Cow Parade.
"This will help Pittsburgh celebrate its robotic roots, which stretch back to the 1920s, when Westinghouse created some of the world's first robots," according to a CMU statement.
Another project taking place in conjunction with Robot 250 involves teams of students and mentors set to build 50 robot prototypes by the end of 2007. Twenty of those prototypes are set to be chosen and professionally built.
Included in the program is Carnegie Science Center's Mission Discovery at the Hill House Association, a nonprofit community center in the Hill District area of Pittsburgh, as well the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary and Secondary Students, a program for gifted children.
Robot 250 is being overseen by Project Director Dennis Bateman and Illah Nourbakhsh, an associate professor at The Robotics Institute known for developing a kit that enables people to connect a homemade robot wirelessly to the Internet and make robots from recipes. Carl DiSalvo, a research fellow in Nourbakhsh's Community Robotics, Education and Technology Empowerment Laboratory (CREATE), is also part of the team overseeing the program.
Nourbakhsh has repeatedly said he believes that some of the next robotic innovations may come from people who can look at robots with a fresh eye.
In addition to a grant from The Heinz Endowments, Intel and The Grable Foundation have signed on to give the program more funding, which hopes to make robot building available to about 75,000 Pittsburgh-area children.
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