Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute
Overview
Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute is a leader in autonomous mobile robots, computer vision, human-robot interaction, locomotion, and real-world applications of robotic technology in mining, agriculture, and manufacturing. One of the largest robotics education and research organizations in the world, the institute has an annual research budget of more than $55 million, and its more than 300 faculty, staff, and students are working on more than 100 projects.
Highlights:
- Boss, the SUV that can drive unassisted over city streets. The autonomous vehicle won the $2 million Urban Challenge robot race in 2007 and now supports Carnegie Mellon’s research on collision-avoidance systems and self-driving cars.
- Red Rover, a prototype of a four-wheeled lunar rover that will visit the historic site of the Apollo 11 moon landing and broadcast high-definition video back to Earth. Leaders of the Tranquility Trek mission seek to win the $20 million Google Lunar X Prize.
- Cave Crawler, a vehicle designed for mapping and search-and-rescue missions in underground mines.
- Scarab, a prototype lunar prospector built for NASA. Scarab tests technologies that will be used to search for water and other resources on the moon that could support lunar exploration.
- Snake-like robots that can climb inside pipes, around poles, and through cracks to perform search-and-rescue missions. The same technology is being used to design surgical tools to aid in minimally invasive procedures.
- Snackbot, a semi-humanoid mobile robot that will deliver snacks to campus workers as researchers try to discover how humans and robots can best interact.
- Ballbot, the first robot that moves by balancing atop a sphere the size of a bowling ball. Dynamically stable robots such as Ballbot may be particularly suited for working in offices or homes.
Contact: Byron Spice, Carnegie Mellon University, 412-268-9068, bspice@cs.cmu.edu