Robotics Institute
Encyclopedia
The Robotics Institute is a division of the School of Computer Science
at Carnegie Mellon University
in Pittsburgh
, Pennsylvania
, United States
. It is considered to be one of the leading centers of robotics
research
in the world.
The RI was established in 1979, and for many years CMU was the only university in the world offering a Ph.D. in Robotics. In 2008, the total number of people in the RI (faculty, staff, students, postdocs) was 404, making the RI one of the largest (probably the largest) robotics research organizations in the world. Total sponsored project expenditures in FY06 were $53M.
The National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) was established in 1996 as the commercialization arm of RI, and has been very successful at applying robotics technology to commercial and defense applications. The RI and NREC are also leaders in developing materials and curricula for robotics education in the secondary grades.
The Field Robotics Center (FRC) has developed a number of significant robots, including Sandstorm
and H1ghlander
, which finished second and third in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge
, and the Boss, which won the 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge
.
The RI operates labs and facilities on Carnegie Mellon's main campus as well as in the Lawrenceville
and Hazelwood neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.
The book Almost Human: Making Robots Think by Lee Gutkind
is devoted to describing the development of robots at the Robotics Institute, particularly focusing on the developers and describing field trips.
Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science
The School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA is a leading private school for computer science established in 1965. It has been consistently ranked among the top computer science programs over the decades. U.S...
at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is considered to be one of the leading centers of robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
in the world.
The RI was established in 1979, and for many years CMU was the only university in the world offering a Ph.D. in Robotics. In 2008, the total number of people in the RI (faculty, staff, students, postdocs) was 404, making the RI one of the largest (probably the largest) robotics research organizations in the world. Total sponsored project expenditures in FY06 were $53M.
The National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) was established in 1996 as the commercialization arm of RI, and has been very successful at applying robotics technology to commercial and defense applications. The RI and NREC are also leaders in developing materials and curricula for robotics education in the secondary grades.
The Field Robotics Center (FRC) has developed a number of significant robots, including Sandstorm
Sandstorm (vehicle)
Sandstorm is an autonomous vehicle. Created by Carnegie Mellon University's Red Team, it is a heavily modified 1986 M998 HMMWV. It competed in the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2004 and 2005.Sandstorm qualified in first position in the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge...
and H1ghlander
H1ghlander
H1ghlander is an autonomous vehicle. Created by Carnegie Mellon University's Red Team, it is a heavily modified 1999 HUMMER H1. It competed in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge....
, which finished second and third in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge
DARPA Grand Challenge (2005)
The second driverless car competition of the DARPA Grand Challenge was a off-road course that began at 6:40am on October 8, 2005. All but one of the 23 finalists in the 2005 race surpassed the distance completed by the best vehicle in the 2004 race...
, and the Boss, which won the 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge
DARPA Grand Challenge (2007)
The third driverless car competition of the DARPA Grand Challenge, was commonly known as the DARPA Urban Challenge. It took place on November 3, 2007 at the site of the now-closed George Air Force Base , in Victorville, California , in the West of the United States...
.
The RI operates labs and facilities on Carnegie Mellon's main campus as well as in the Lawrenceville
Lawrenceville (Pittsburgh)
Lawrenceville is one of the largest neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is located northeast of downtown, and like many of Pittsburgh's riverfront neighborhoods, it has an industrial past. Lawrenceville is bordered by the Allegheny River, Polish Hill, Bloomfield, the Strip District and...
and Hazelwood neighborhoods of Pittsburgh.
The book Almost Human: Making Robots Think by Lee Gutkind
Lee Gutkind
Lee Gutkind is an American writer.Gurkind is the founder of the literary magazine Creative Nonfiction and the author or editor of over a dozen books. He started the first ever MFA program in creative nonfiction at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh...
is devoted to describing the development of robots at the Robotics Institute, particularly focusing on the developers and describing field trips.
See also
- Bow LegBow LegThe Bow Leg is a highly resilient robotic leg being developed for running robots at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute. The key technology is the fiber-reinforced composite spring that bends like a bow to store elastic energy....
- SandstormSandstorm (vehicle)Sandstorm is an autonomous vehicle. Created by Carnegie Mellon University's Red Team, it is a heavily modified 1986 M998 HMMWV. It competed in the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2004 and 2005.Sandstorm qualified in first position in the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge...
, an autonomous vehicleUnmanned ground vehicleAn unmanned ground vehicle is a military robot used to augment the soldiers capability. This type of robot is generally capable of operating outdoors and over a wide variety of terrain, functioning in place of humans.... - LORAX (robot)LORAX (robot)The Life On ice: Robotic Antarctic eXplorer or LORAX is an experimental robotics project being developed by the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, supported by NASA. The intent of the project is to create an autonomous rover to survey the distribution of microbes on Antarctica's ice...
- Crusher (robot)Crusher (robot)Crusher is a autonomous off-road Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle developed by researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center for DARPA. It is a follow up on the previous Spinner vehicle...