An international competition to pave the way for a new generation of rescue robots was dominated by a team of Japanese roboticists who were students in the laboratory of a pioneer in the design of intelligent humanoid machines.
The early roboticist, Hirochika Inoue, began work in the field almost a half-century ago at the University of Tokyo, and in the mid-1990s led the design of robots that could both walk and manipulate objects.
Students from the lab where Dr. Inoue did his early work, who then studied under Masayuki Inaba, a roboticist who was one of Dr. Inoue’s pupils, emerged as the clear leaders at the Pentagon’s Darpa Robotics Challenge 2013 Trials on Friday and Saturday.
Their team, called Schaft, completed the eight required tasks in the challenge almost flawlessly, losing points only because the wind blew a door out of its robot’s grasp and because the robot was not yet able to climb out of the vehicle after it successfully navigated an obstacle course.
The trials, held on the infield of the Homestead-Miami Speedway, included 16 teams that competed for a chance at the $2 million prize next year, and eight were selected to move on. The eight are now eligible for $1 million in support to help them prepare for the final event.
Gill Pratt, the Darpa program manager who is overseeing the Robotics Challenge, praised the scientist who paved the way for
. “Dr. Inoue is a remarkable guy who really is the father of a lot of the stuff in Japan,” he said.
He also noted that the team of Japanese roboticists had a striking work ethic. Starting from an agency handout, the team had built three prototypes and were already testing the machines when Darpa officials visited Tokyo last summer. Dr. Pratt said the officials were expecting to see only plans.
“When we got there to do the site review and walked into their lab, we were amazed,” he said.
The students recently left the university to enter the Darpa contest, and created the company Schaft. It has since been purchased by Google as part of the company’s new robotics initiative.
The Darpa event has been described as a Grand Challenge to open the way for an era in which a generation of mobile robots will aid in disaster situations, traveling and working where humans cannot. The research agency is trying to develop systems that could be used in situations like the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The fact that there were no robots that could quickly be called upon in that emergency led to consternation in Japan, a nation that has prided itself on its advanced robots.
The Latest on: Rescue Robots
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Rescue Robots” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Rescue Robots
- Xtend raises $40M to allow human commanders to guide autonomous AI drone missionson May 8, 2024 at 6:36 am
Xtend co-founder and Chief Experience Officer Matteo Shapira told SiliconANGLE in an interview that for drones to assist in field operations, such as with police, firefighters or soldiers, drones ...
- Swarm of tiny snail robots stick together to form new structureson May 8, 2024 at 6:15 am
Researchers have built a swarm of miniature, snail-inspired robots, minus all the mucus. Instead, a retractable suction cup works in tandem with the remote-controlled machine’s tank-like treads to ...
- Controversial drone company Xtend leans into defense with new $40 million roundon May 8, 2024 at 6:00 am
“Our platform empowers drones and robots to handle specific tasks autonomously ... including first response, search and rescue and critical infrastructure inspection,” Aviv said. “Hundreds of Xtend’s ...
- Revolutionary artificial skin gives robots a human touch, transforming care and rescue missionson May 8, 2024 at 3:32 am
Scientists have recently created a revolutionary type of artificial skin that is both flexible and capable of simulating the human sense of touch. This advancement is set to transform the ...
- Revolutionary artificial skin allows robots to 'feel,' promises breakthroughs in healthcare and rescue missionson May 8, 2024 at 12:36 am
Scientists have developed a new type of flexible artificial skin that enables robots to feel and touch like humans. Equipping machines with a sense of touch could bring numerous benefits. A new ...
- Scientists create robot snails that can move independently using tracks or work together to climbon May 7, 2024 at 6:00 am
A team of roboticists at the Chinese University of Hong Kong has created a robot snail with a helmet-like shell that moves by rolling around on bulldozer-like tracks. They have published a paper on ...
- Crews rescue teen boy who fell 30 feet down manhole in Goodyearon May 3, 2024 at 12:06 pm
According to Capt. Kevin Boyd with Goodyear Fire, crews used a tripod system to rescue the man. “They lowered a technical rescue team member down into the hole, put the patient in a harness to lift ...
- CMU Researchers and Robots Shine at Robotics Showcase in Nation’s Capitalon April 30, 2024 at 7:48 pm
Carnegie Mellon University researchers from its Robotics Institute(opens in new window) (RI) and College of Engineering(opens in new window) are packing up fossil-inspired paleobionics(opens in new ...
- Watch Boston Dynamics’ dog-like robot don a dog suit and danceon April 29, 2024 at 11:15 pm
To mark International Dance Day, Boston Dynamics has shared a video showing its Spot robot dressed as a dog and pulling some moves.
- Robots cannot outrun animals, but they're evolving fasteron April 26, 2024 at 7:59 pm
Despite these efforts, today's robots still cannot match the natural abilities of many animals in terms of endurance ...
via Bing News