robotics.mit.edu
Middle schoolers turn into Roombas | Robotics @ MIT
http://robotics.mit.edu/middle-schoolers-turn-roombas
Skip to main content. Middle schoolers turn into Roombas. The workshop part of the STEM Mentoring Program. Hosted by the MIT Office of Engineering Outreach Programs. Gave students a glimpse into the complexity of programming robots. Robots don’t start out with minds of their own, says STEM Program Coordinator Catherine Park. There is a lot of work that goes into enabling robots to do the things they do. Students left with a broader understanding of robots and the work that engineers do. It’s empoweri...
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MIT cheetah robot lands the running jump | Robotics @ MIT
http://robotics.mit.edu/mit-cheetah-robot-lands-running-jump
Skip to main content. MIT cheetah robot lands the running jump. In a leap for robot development, the MIT researchers who built a robotic cheetah have now trained it to see and jump over hurdles as it runs making this the first four-legged robot to run and jump over obstacles autonomously. See, run, jump. Last September, the group demonstrated that the robotic cheetah was able to run untethered. A feat that Kim notes the robot performed blind, without the use of cameras or other vision systems. Now, the r...
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Helping robots handle uncertainty | Robotics @ MIT
http://robotics.mit.edu/helping-robots-handle-uncertainty
Skip to main content. Helping robots handle uncertainty. Decentralized partially observable Markov decision processes are a way to model autonomous robots’ behavior in circumstances where neither their communication with each other nor their judgments about the outside world are perfect. Last summer, MIT researchers presented a paper that made Dec-POMDPs much more practical. At this year’s International Conference on Robotics and Automation, another team of MIT researchers takes this approach a step furt...
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First stop robot road race, next stop NASA | Robotics @ MIT
http://robotics.mit.edu/first-stop-robot-road-race-next-stop-nasa
Skip to main content. First stop robot road race, next stop NASA. What does the MIT Robotics Team do on a lovely spring Sunday? Compete in a robot race, of course. The race in question was a fundraiser for Vecna Cares, a nonprofit founded by Deborah Theobald ’95. The global healthcare organization offers hardware and software solutions to underserved areas and developing countries as well as underfunded clinics in the U.S. All proceeds from the robot race will fund a more cost-effective and efficient red...
robotics.mit.edu
Helping robots put it all together | Robotics @ MIT
http://robotics.mit.edu/helping-robots-put-it-all-together
Skip to main content. Helping robots put it all together. Today’s industrial robots are remarkably efficient as long as they’re in a controlled environment where everything is exactly where they expect it to be. But put them in an unfamiliar setting, where they have to think for themselves, and their efficiency plummets. The researchers also tested the viability of their algorithm by using it to guide a crew of three robots in the assembly of a chair. We’re really excited about the idea of using robots i...
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MIT team places sixth at international DARPA Robotics Challenge | Robotics @ MIT
http://robotics.mit.edu/mit-team-places-sixth-international-darpa-robotics-challenge
Skip to main content. MIT team places sixth at international DARPA Robotics Challenge. After three years, two months, and 650,000 lines of code, a team of researchers. From MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) stood proudly with their humanoid robot in a sporting arena surrounded by thousands of spectators. They were just one step away from winning the $2 million grand prize at an international competition that many have been calling the Robot Olympics. The CSAIL team finished m...
robotics.mit.edu
Centimeter-long origami robot | Robotics @ MIT
http://robotics.mit.edu/centimeter-long-origami-robot
Skip to main content. At the recent International Conference on Robotics and Automation, MIT researchers presented a printable origami robot that folds itself up from a flat sheet of plastic when heated and measures about a centimeter from front to back. Joining Sung on the paper describing the robot are her advisor, Daniela Rus, the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professor in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; first author Shuhei Miyashita, a postdoc in Rus’ lab; Steven Guitron, w...
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Using soccer to teach robotics | Robotics @ MIT
http://robotics.mit.edu/using-soccer-teach-robotics
Skip to main content. Using soccer to teach robotics. Its title is Introduction to Robotics and for some students, that’s all they need to know to get excited about the popular class in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE) that goes by the number 2.12. For a MechE student, it’s a fun hands-on convergence of design, manufacturing, kinematics, controls, mathematics, mechatronics, problem-solving, and computer science. Students spend the first five weeks learning about controls, programming, and...
robotics.mit.edu
News | Robotics @ MIT
http://robotics.mit.edu/news
Skip to main content. Professor Nick Roy's project on drone delivery at Google is now public. Google Joins Amazon in Dreams of Drone Delivery. Amazon, it seems, is not the only big technology company dreaming of a drone. Collaborative learning for robots. Driverless-vehicle options now include scooters. Electric motors find new roles in robots, ships, cars, and microgrids. Prepping a robot for its journey to Mars. 3-D-printed robots with shock-absorbing skins. An autonomous fleet for Amsterdam.
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Robotic challenger | Robotics @ MIT
http://robotics.mit.edu/robotic-challenger
Skip to main content. On June 5-6, a team of nearly two dozen MIT students and faculty led by Russ Tedrake from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory will compete in the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) final in Pomona, California. The DRC is a team competition to develop robot systems capable of assisting humans in responding to natural and human-made disasters. The winning team will receive a $2 million prize. Driverless-vehicle options now include scooters.
