DARPA Robot ARM Simulator

At the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American  visitors can play interactive games with the DARPA Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM) robot, see what the robot "sees" on video screens behind the robot and learn how robots process information. The exhibit teaches visitors about how robotics can impact society and encourages young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. DARPA is also offering the public the opportunity to develop and test code to perform tasks in the robot simulator, then upload that code to an actual robot and watch it execute the task in real-time via the web.

The DARPA ARM robot is a cutting edge robot designed as a tool for researchers at leading U.S. universities and research labs to find ways to enhance the types of tasks robots can perform while minimizing the amount of human input necessary.

New US Defense Robots Program

Credit: DARPA

US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DARPA has launched a new robotics program aimed at creating machines to bolster military and defense activities and help human U.S. military personnel work more effectively. 

The new Maximum Mobility and Manipulation (M3) program seeks to create and demonstrate significant scientific and engineering advances in robot mobility and manipulation capability.  If successful, M3 will significantly improve robot capabilities through new approaches to engineering  better design tools, fabrication methods and control algorithms. 

M3 research partners include Carnegie Mellon University, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of California Santa Cruz, Cornell, Harvard, Tufts, and University of California, Berkeley, Case Western Reserve, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oregon State University, Tekrona, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Florida's Institute of Human and Machine Cognition, Raytheon, Vecna Technologies and Boston Dynamics. 

$34.5 million for Brain-Controlled Robot Arm

Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., has awarded a contract for up to $34.5 million of DARPA to manage the development and testing of the Modular Prosthetic Limb (MPL) system on human subjects, using a brain-controlled interface.

APL scientists and engineers developed the underlying technology under DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics 2009 program, an ambitious four-year effort to create a prosthetic arm that would by far eclipse the World War II era hook-and-cable device used by most amputees. The program has already produced two complex prototypes, each advancing the art of upper-arm prosthetics.

The team will develop implantable micro-arrays used to record brain signals and stimulate the brain. They will also conduct experiments and clinical trials to demonstrate the ability to use implantable neural interfaces safely and effectively to control a prosthesis, and optimize arm control and sensory feedback algorithms that enable dexterous manipulation through the use of a neuro-prosthetic limb.
(Source: jhuapl.edu)

DARPA unveils new robotics program

Early investments in mobile manipulators, or robots, have led to a family of ground platforms now used in military operations for many missions, including countering improvised explosive devices. Although these robots save lives and help reduce casualties, they have limitations. Most require significant human interaction, which increases the time required to complete tasks. Robot performance under human remote control is limited by video fields of view, perspective and communications bandwidth.

DARPA's latest effort, the Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM) program, envisions robots with a high degree of autonomy requiring only high-level supervision by an operator. This simplifies human control and could drastically improve execution of tasks. If successful, these future robots could perform multiple military missions. The goal of the four-year ARM program is to develop software and hardware that enables a robot to autonomously grasp and manipulate to perform complicated tasks with a human providing only high-level direction.

Three research teams are participating in the hardware track of this program: iRobot, Sandia National Laboratories and SRI International are developing designs for a new multi-finger hand with an emphasis on robust design and low cost. Six teams working in the software track will develop software that enables the robot to perform several tasks. Software researchers include Carnegie Mellon University, HRL Laboratories, iRobot, NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory, SRI International and University of Southern California.
(Source: DARPAPublicAffairsOffice Aug 2010)

US $7 Million for Robotics Education

Carnegie Mellon University, CMU, has launched a four-year robotics education project called Fostering Innovation through Robotics Exploration (FIRE), sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and designed to reverse a significant national decline in the number of college students majoring in computer science, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (CS-STEM).

FIRE will develop new tools that enable middle and high school students to expand upon their interest in robots, leading them from one CS-STEM activity to the next. Examples are programming tools that create game-like virtual worlds where robot programs can be tested, as well as computerized tutors that teach mathematics and computer science in the context of robotics.

The initiative will target robotic competitions such as FIRST, VEX and Robofest that already are popular among secondary school students, but also will create new competitions for autonomous, multi-robot teams and for computer animations that will attract a broader array of students and offer new challenges.

$32 Million for a Robot Mule

U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office and the U.S. Marine Corps have awarded Boston Dynamics with a 30-month, $32-million contract last week to deliver a prototype of a robot mule called LS3 - Legged Squad Support Systems. LS3 is a dynamic robot designed to go anywhere soldiers and marines go on foot. Each LS3 will carry up to 400 lbs of gear and enough fuel for missions covering 20 miles and lasting 24 hours. LS3 will not need a driver, because it will automatically follow a leader using computer vision or travel to designated locations using sensing and GPS. The development of LS3 will take 30 months, with first walk out scheduled for 2012.

Boston Dynamics will also collaborate with including engineers and scientists from AAI Corp., aircraft-maker Bell Helicopter, Carnegie Mellon's National Robotics Engineering Center, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and motion-control systems provider Woodward HRT to develop the LS3's hydraulics, propulsion and guidance systems.

Boston Dynamics, founded in 1992, scored a breakthrough in 2003 when DARPA began funding the development of BigDog, a 75-kilogram mechanical workhorse and the LS3's predecessor.

Big robotic dog

This prototype of a 4-legged robot that can navigate rugged, complex and slippery terrain was developed by Boston Dynamics with help from Foster Miller, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station. Development is funded by the DARPA Defense Sciences Office.
BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter/40” long, 0.7 meters/ 28” tall and 75 kg/ 165 pounds weight. The robot is powered by a gasoline engine driving a hydraulic actuation system; its legs are articulated like an animal’s, and have elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next just as animals and humans do.

Tartan Racing wins $2 million prize for DARPA URBAN CHALLENGE

Tartan Racing’s “Boss” of Pittsburgh, Penn., turned in the top performance in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Urban Challenge and won the $2 million cash prize as the competition’s first-place winner, DARPA announced on Nov 4th. Stanford Racing’s “Junior” of Stanford, Calif., won the $1 million second place prize, while Victor Tango’s “Odin” of Blacksburg, Va., received $500,000 for finishing third.

The Urban Challenge prize winners competed as part of a field of 11 finalists that was selected from 35 semifinalists that competed in the National Qualification Event (NQE) prior to the final event. Semifinalists were selected from the original field of 89 competitors.

Vehicles that competed in the Urban Challenge were required to operate entirely autonomously, without human intervention, as they obeyed California traffic laws and performed maneuvers such as merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles and avoiding obstacles. The vehicles had to think like human drivers and continually make split-second decisions to avoid moving vehicles, merge into traffic and safely pass through intersections. Demonstrating safe operation in an urban situation was an effective and consolidated method of testing situations the vehicles might face even while conducting missions in less populated areas.

DARPA ANNOUNCES 36 SEMI-FINALISTS FOR URBAN CHALLENGE

Autonomous Vehicle Competition to be Held in Victorville, Calif. (Anaheim, Calif.) – Dr. Tony Tether, director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), today announced the 36 teams (list attached) selected as semi-finalists for the Urban Challenge. The semi-finalists will next compete in the Urban Challenge National Qualification Event (NQE) scheduled for October 26-31, 2007. The top 20 teams from the NQE will move on to the Urban Challenge final event on November 3, and compete for cash prizes worth $2 million for first, $1 million for second, and $500,000 for third place.

DARPA Urban Challenge 2007

The DARPA Urban Challenge is an autonomous vehicle research and development program with the goal of developing technology that will keep warfighters off the battlefield and out of harm’s way. An autonomous ground vehicle is a vehicle that navigates and drives entirely on its own with no human driver and no remote control. Through the use of various sensors and positioning systems, the vehicle determines all the characteristics of its environment required to enable it to carry out the task it has been assigned.

The Urban Challenge features autonomous ground vehicles maneuvering in a mock city environment, executing simulated military supply missions while merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles, negotiating busy intersections, and avoiding obstacles.
The competitive final event is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2007. The exact location will be announced before the National Qualification Event scheduled for October 2007. DARPA is offering $2M for the fastest qualifying vehicle, and $1M and $500,000 for second and third place.

53 teams from have been qualified for the first qualification round.