New Program to Accelerate Robotics Research

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A new program promises to supply humanoid robots to scientists and engineers in the hopes of accelerating robotics research.

This $5 million project, established by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and carried out in collaboration with Oregon State University, plans to send humanoid robots to researchers around the US for study purposes.

According to an official statement from Oregon State University, the aim of the project is to “drive discovery and learning in computing and communication foundations.”

By supplying robots of similar design to researchers across the US, the team hopes to facilitate greater collaboration in robotic design and accelerate the deployment of these systems across industries. The various teams will be connected using online collaboration tools, allowing them to share findings and work collaboratively, according to a report by iotworldtoday.com.

“A big hurdle in robotics research has been the lack of a common robot to work with,” said Bill Smart, study lead at Oregon State University. “It’s tough to compare results and replicate and build on each other’s work when everyone is using a different type of robot.”

“Part of the focus is bringing new teams into the community and helping them get up to speed by pairing them with more experienced researchers. This will increase the diversity of people involved in robotics research in the United States and accelerate progress, especially in the field of human-robot interaction,” said Smart.