Monthly Archives: March 2015

TechBridgeWorld Wins Touch of Genius Prize For Braille Writing Tutor

The Braille Writing Tutor developed by the Robotics Institute’s TechBridgeWorld research group to help visually impaired students learn how to write Braille is the winner of the 2014 Louis Braille Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation.

The $20,000 Touch of Genius prize recognizes technical innovations that promote Braille literacy. It is presented by the National Braille Press’ Center for Braille Innovation and is sponsored by the Gibney Family Foundation.

The automated tutors help students learn the skills of creating Braille characters with a slate and stylus. They have been field-tested in India, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Zambia and other nations where Braille typewriters and specialized keyboards, common in developed nations, are not readily available.

Robot Snakes Learn Turns By Following The Lead of Real Sidewinders

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University who develop snake-like robots have picked up a few tricks from real sidewinder rattlesnakes on how to make rapid and even sharp turns with their undulating, modular device.

Working with colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Zoo Atlanta, they have analyzed the motions of sidewinders and tested their observations on CMU’s snake robots. They showed how the complex motion of a sidewinder can be described in terms of two wave motions – vertical and horizontal body waves – and how changing the phase and amplitude of the waves enables snakes to achieve exceptional maneuverability.

“We’ve been programming snake robots for years and have figured out how to get these robots to crawl amidst rubble and through or around pipes,” said Howie Choset, professor at CMU’s Robotics Institute. “By learning from real sidewinders, however, we can make these maneuvers much more efficient and simplify user control. This makes our modular robots much more valuable as tools for urban search-and-rescue tasks, power plant inspections and even archaeological exploration.”

Students Will Flight Test Sensor Package Designed To Model Surface Pits on Moon

A team of Carnegie Mellon University undergraduates is heading to California’s Mojave Desert this spring to flight test a sensor package they developed for analyzing large pits in the surface of the moon or Mars.

The flight tests will be conducted aboard a reusable vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing XA-0.1-B rocket, called “Xombie,” built and operated by Masten Space Systems. The three flights – two tethered and one free flight – will take place at the Mojave Air and Space Port and are funded through the Undergraduate Student Instrument Program (USIP) of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and the Flight Opportunities Program of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.

The hardware and software package developed by the students would be used for a robotic lunar mission to the Lacus Mortis region of the moon planned by Astrobotic Technology and Carnegie Mellon. Orbital imaging suggests this region contains a pit – also known as a skylight – that may serve as an entrance to a cave.

As the landing craft flies over the pit, the sensor package would use computer vision to build a 3-D model of the depression. Upon landing, a CMU-developed robot, called Andy, would then explore the pit.

The team includes Neal Bhasin, a senior computer science student; Kerry Snyder, a senior computer science and robotics major; Oliver Daids, a sophomore computer science major; Rick Shanor, a senior in mechanical engineering and robotics; Ashrith Balakumar, a sophomore mechanical engineering major; and Edward Nolan and Brent Strysko, both seniors majoring in electrical and computer engineering.

International Competitors Join CMU Teams in DARPA Robotics Challenge

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has qualified 14 additional teams, including competitors from Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, China and South Korea, to join teams from Carnegie Mellon University and elsewhere in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Finals, June 5-6 in Pomona, Calif.

Tartan Rescue, a team fielded by CMU’s National Robotics Engineering Center, and Team WPI-CMU, a team based at Worcester Polytechnic Institute that includes CMU Robotics Professor Chris Atkeson, were among 11 teams that previously qualified for the DRC Finals based on their performance at the DRC Trials in December 2013.

The teams will be competing for one of three cash prizes, totaling $3.5 million, based on how their robots perform in response to a simulated natural or man-made disaster. Robots will have one hour to perform a series of tasks, such as driving a vehicle, climbing stairs and using power tools. DARPA also will include a “surprise” task.

Unlike the earlier Trials, all of the robots will operate only on battery power, will communicate wirelessly with their operators and will operate without a safety harness, placing them in danger of falls.