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SCS NEWS IN BRIEF
CRAWLING CHIMP TAKES ON NExT DARPA CHALLENGE
It looks like a primate, but crawls on
tracks like a tank—the newest robot to
take on a DARPA challenge is the CMU
Highly Intelligent Mobile Platform, or
CHIMP for short.
The Defense Advanced Research Project
Agency Robotics Challenge seeks
robots that can respond to search-andrescue
situations such as the 2011
Fukushima nuclear plant disaster.
The robots will need to be able to
navigate stairs and ladders as well
as operate equipment and vehicles
designed for humans.
CHIMP is being developed by CMU’s
National Robotics Engineering Center,
whose entry, Tartan Rescue Team, is
one of seven selected by DARPA for
“track A” of the challenge.
With four articulated limbs that
incorporate hand-like claws, CHIMP
does look something like a monkey
or chimpanzee. But NREC scientists
say its normal form of locomotion
won’t be walking on its legs, but rolling
along tank-like tracks built into those
four limbs.
“This type of robot has tremendous
potential,” says Tony Stentz, director
of NREC and leader of Tartan Rescue
Team. Although the human-size tasks
required in this challenge would seem
to favor a robot that can stand and
walk like a person, he says the team is
focused on simplicity and reliability,
which favors tracked locomotion.
Walking and standing greatly increases
the complexity of the processing
power required by a robot, which in
turn increases its power consumption,
Stentz says. It also leaves the robot
more vulnerable to energy or programming
glitches, he says.
CHIMP will be able to navigate through
hazardous situations and maintain
stability automatically, while a human
operator working via remote control
will make higher-level decisions. “This
enables CHIMP to be highly capable
without the complexity associated
with a fully autonomous robot,”
Stentz says.
In addition to the Tartan Rescue Team,
a second CMU team is also competing
in this DARPA challenge. Team Steel is
headed by Chris Atkeson, professor of
robotics and human-computer interaction.
Unlike Tartan Rescue, which is developing
both hardware and software,
Team Steel is developing software in a
virtual competition that will run on a
DARPA-provided humanoid Atlas robot.
Robots in the challenge will have to
successfully perform tasks such as
driving a vehicle, traveling across rubble,
removing debris, opening doors,
climbing ladders, and using tools to
operate and replace components.
Events are planned
for this June and December,
with the final event scheduled
for December 2014. The winner will
receive $2 million.
In 2007, Tartan Racing, a joint team
fielded by Carnegie Mellon and General
Motors, won the $2 million DARPA
Urban Challenge to develop a driverless
vehicle that could successfully
navigate an urban environment.
NREC’S ROBOT PAINT-STRIPPER
AN EDISON AWARD FINALIST
A robotic system that would remove paint and other
coatings from aircraft has been named a finalist for
the internationally renowned Edison Awards.
The Advanced Robotic Laser Coating Removal
System is being developed on behalf of the U.S.
Air Force by CMU’s National Robotics Engineering
Center in conjunction with Concurrent Technologies
Inc. It uses high-powered lasers mounted on mobile
robotic platforms.
Named for inventor Thomas Edison, the Edison
Awards are presented annually in 12 different
categories and are voted on by more than 3,000
senior business executives and scientists from
across the United States. First presented in 1987,
the awards honor innovation and creativity in
product and service design.
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