1. News Presentation Robotics

2. What is a Robot? A Robot is- A Robot is-Robot  a mechanical device  sometimes resembles a human  performs complex human tasks on command or by being programmed

3. History  1801- Joseph Jacquard invents textile machine  First reference to the word robot

4. History…  First programmable robot- Universal Automation  1997- Pathfinder put on Mars by Nasa

5. Pathfinder

6. Automation vs. Remote Control  Automation- operation using a stored program, without outside influence  Remote control- operation using outside influence

7. Scientists Tweak Robots  University of Memphis  Robert Kozma, Director Computational Neurodynamics Lab  Stan Franklin, co-director, Institute for Intelligent Systems

8. Salamander Robot  salamander is an amphibian salamander  does not bump into things or fall off  doesn't hurt itself as it moves around the landscape  recognizes prey, predators  takes advantage of opportunities

9. Robots with biological brains  salamander robot, to begin with  machines which think, learn and make decisions using brain waves

10. NASA Connection  NASA and the National Science Foundation are funding this research  Mars is roughly 143 million miles away  Signals from Earth take 12 minutes to reach there to reach there

11.  next generation of Rovers- more independent, thoughtful  biological brain like computer software  smart rovers – choose best scientific targets for study on Mars

12. Traditional vs Future S/W  Traditional- based on strings of numbers and symbols  Future- encodes information in the form of very complex oscillations, in the style of brains.

13. Root of Work  Rabbits, not salamander  University of California, Berkeley  Prof. Walter J. Freeman worked on rabbits  Freeman is collaborating with University of Memphis team

14. The formula Brain Research + mathematical models + chaos theory + neural networks + other mind-bending stuff => brain wave computer s/w

15. Robot Dogs  software being tested on Emma and Nemo  they think and learn

16. Other uses  new types of computers  financial forecasting  autonomous flying or floating vehicles  defense

17. Some thoughts  Is it safe to give brain-like thinking power to machines?  Is it possible for the events of the movie “Terminator” to be a reality?  What about an error in the code of a robot performing a vital task?

18. Valerie, the "Roboceptionist"  Carnegie Mellon University  world's first robot receptionist with a personality robot receptionist robot receptionist  her face is displayed on a flat-screen monitor mounted atop an industrial robot

19. What can Valerie do?  gives directions  answers phone  gossips about her life- her boss, her psychiatrist and her dream of being a lounge star !

20. Socially skilled Robot  Valerie is an attempt to create a socially skilled robot  Valerie’s behavior is an illusion that she is more aware socially than she really is

21. Dispensing advice and aspirations  greets visitors as they approach  answers questions typed from keyboard  tells stories about her life  talks on the phone with her "motherboard"

22. Some thoughts  Should social robots be made to look like humans?  Could Robots like Valerie take away human livelihood?

23. Sensory Perception  Vision  Range Finding  Tactile Sensing  Voice Communication

24. Vision  cameras  infrared  heat signatures

25. Range finding  Radar  Triangulation

26. Tactile Sensing  touch sensors  slip sensors  joint force

27. Voice communication  Speech recognition  Word templates

28. Sandstorm  a robot on wheels  a self driving vehicle  creation of Carnegie Mellon University's Red Team Red TeamRed Team  diesel-powered 998 HMMWV

29. Darpa’s grand challenge  was held on March 13, 2005  unmanned vehicles had to navigate over 200 miles of obstacle-strewn desert

30. How Sandstorm works?  it scans its surroundings  data fed into Intel Itanium and Xeon processors  chooses a course

31. A challenge  stabilizing the sensors so that they can gather reliable data  like a Cheetah stabilizes its head while in motion after its prey

32. Some thoughts  What do you think was the biggest challenge to Sandstorm during the race?