March 7, 2005
Purdue invites public to celebrate week of robotics
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The robots are coming, and you are invited!
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Purdue University will sponsor a nine-day tribute to robotics during two separate events open to the public March 10-19. The first event features ASIMO, which Honda Motor Co. created and bills as the world’s most advanced humanoid robot. In the second, robots created by middle school and high school students from 10 states will compete.
Robots – the fastest growing population in the nation – will dance and talk, kick and climb, and compete against each other.
"Since they were first developed 44 years ago, industrial robots have found their way into places we never dreamed," says Shimon Nof, a Purdue industrial engineering professor. "They are becoming increasingly important in applications ranging from quality control to space exploration, from surgery to the service industry.
"They are so ubiquitous, and their numbers are growing so fast that we now produce more robots than people each year. Just think about all the toy robots. And Purdue has been involved since the beginning."
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Honda Motor Co. began developing ASIMO, or Advanced Step in Innovative MObility, in 1986 with a goal of creating an advanced humanoid robot able to function in real-world environments. Many believe ASIMO is named after the famous science and science fiction writer Isaac Asimov (1920-92), who coined the term "robotics." After several early development prototypes, ASIMO was completed in 2000.
ASIMO will take the stage with performances designated for different audiences on Thursday through Saturday (March 10-12) in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. Purdue students, faculty and staff are invited for a demonstration from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Thursday (March 10). Other demonstrations throughout Thursday and Friday (March 10-11) are set aside for area K-12 students expected from around the state. The general public is invited to the Saturday (March 12) performances at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
Purdue is the only place in Indiana ASIMO is visiting.
"We chose Purdue as a stop on the 'ASIMO Technology Circuit University Tour' in recognition of Purdue’s position as one of the nation's leading universities in the engineering sciences," said Stephen Keeney, ASIMO project leader from American Honda. "We are excited and honored to share this amazing technology with some of the brightest minds in the field of engineering."
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ASIMO will demonstrate humanlike abilities, including talking, walking forward and backward, kicking a soccer ball, balancing on one leg, dancing and climbing stairs. The robot stands 4-feet tall, weighs 115 pounds and is programmed to walk one mph. A laptop computer or portable computer controller unit operates the robot.
"This is a great opportunity to bring elementary and secondary students to the Purdue campus and introduce them to the concept of robotic engineering," said Gina Settle, outreach coordinator for the Purdue Department of Engineering Education. "We expect they will be fascinated and maybe even open their minds to what one can do with a career in engineering, math, physics and computer sciences."
The second event to be held at Purdue is the FIRST Boilermaker Regional Robotics Competition, which will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 17-19 in the Purdue Armory.
The FIRST teams consist of high school students from throughout Indiana and nine other states with robots they built in an attempt to qualify for the national finals of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). The teams, with advice from engineers in their hometowns, created robots that will compete against each other in a three-on-three tournament. Points are scored by stacking pyramid-shaped objects on a five-foot high goal.
"The levels of creativity and ingenuity that the students demonstrate through FIRST never cease to amaze me," said Patrick Wesonga, director of Purdue FIRST Programs. "These robots, in which the students have invested countless hours of work, are tangible evidence of how valuable FIRST is in inspiring a fascination with technology and engineering in young people."
Suellen Reed, Indiana's superintendent of public instruction, will visit with teams during preliminary rounds at 10 a.m. March 18 and deliver a speech in the armory at 11:50 a.m. Purdue President Martin C. Jischke also will address competition participants during opening ceremonies for the final rounds at 9:30 a.m. March 19. The final rounds of competition conclude at 1 p.m., after which the awards ceremony will be held.
While the robots entertain, Purdue researchers are at work finding ways to make them work even better through a number of ongoing robotics research projects.
Purdue is collaborating with researchers from the Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, which leads the world in humanoid-robot research. The goal is to develop robots that can not only move more like people but also adapt quickly to new situations so they can complete a variety of tasks they aren’t specifically programmed to perform.
"We are trying to give humanoid robots the ability to behave and move more like human beings, to have the skill-learning capabilities of humans," said C.S. George Lee, a professor of electrical and computer engineering who is involved in the Advanced Institute of Science and Technology collaboration.
In another study, researchers are placing robotic dogs in the homes of isolated senior citizens to determine whether the mechanical substitutes, like pets, can improve the quality of life for humans. Alan Beck, director of the Center for the Human-Animal bond in Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine; and Nancy Edwards, professor of nursing, are leading the study.
Nof, editor of "Handbook of Industrial Robotics," pioneered robotic ergonomics, collaborative robotics and e-work, and leads research on the population explosion of robots, which has nearly doubled over the last decade in North America alone.
Avi Kak, professor of electrical and computer engineering, developed the Purdue Robot Vision Lab that performs state-of-the-art research in sensory intelligence for the machines of the future. This laboratory has made pioneering contributions in 3-D object recognition, vision-guided navigation for indoor mobile robots and task-and-assembly planning.
Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu
Sources: Gina Settle, (765) 494-3980, gsettle@purdue.edu
Julia McQueen, American Honda media contact, (310) 242-1745, julia_mcqueen@ahm.honda.com
C.S.George Lee, (765) 494-1384, sglee@purdue.edu
Howard Zelaznik, (765) 494-5601, zelaznik@purdue.edu
Alan Beck, (765) 494-0854, abeck@purdue.edu
Nancy Edwards, (765) 494-4015, nedwards@nursing.purdue.edu
Shimon Nof, (765) 494-5427, nof@ecn.purdue.edu
Avi Kak, (765) 494-3551, kak@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: A journalist preview is set for 10:30-11:30 a.m. Thursday (March 10) in the Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse where students will be onstage to interact with ASIMO, the Honda robot. Journalists are invited to attend any public demonstration Thursday through Saturday (March 10-12). Publication quality-photos are available at https://asimo.honda.com/photo_viewer_news.asp. Video will be available after the ASIMO demonstration March 10.
Related Web sites:
Purdue University Home Page
Honda North American Education Tour Home Page
PHOTO CAPTION:
Suellen Reed, Indiana's superintendent of public instruction, test drives a robot today (Friday, March 18) with help from Michael Boruss of the TechnoKats from Kokomo, Ind. at the inaugural FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Boilermaker Regional Robotics Competition at Purdue University. Approximately 40 robots built by teams of high school students from throughout the United States are competing this weekend in the competition, in which the robots attempt to place pyramid shaped objects on 5-foot high goals. Indiana featured the most teams, with 21. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger.)
A publication-quality photograph is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2005/reed-robots.jpg
PHOTO CAPTION:
Suellen Reed, Indiana's superintendent of public instruction, inspects a robot today (Friday, March 18) with Caitlin McMillen and Ted Pesyna of Carmel High School. Reed came to Purdue University to visit the inaugural FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Boilermaker Regional Robotics Competition. The Carmel TechHounds were among 41 teams from around the country competing in the tournament, in which the robots attempt to place pyramid shaped objects on 5-foot high goals. Indiana featured the most teams, with 21. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger.)
A publication-quality photograph is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2005/reed-robots2.jpg
PHOTO CAPTION:
ASIMO, the world's most advanced humanoid robot developed by Honda Motor Co., will visit Purdue University March 10-12 as part of the "ASIMO Technology Circuit University Tour." Purdue is the only place in Indiana the humanoid robot will visit. The public is invited to attend special performances at 2:30 p.m. Thursday (March 10) and at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday (March 12). All performances are in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. Photo provided by Honda Motor Co.
A publication-quality photograph is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2005/asimo-robot.jpg
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