Robotics and Automation Society Chapter

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Robotics and Automation Society Chapter

• Oregon Section - IEEE

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Robotics Current State of the Art

• Attracts widespread public interest and
  enthusiasm, especially among engineers.
• Basic electro-mechanical design problems solved
  decades ago.
• Dramatic improvements in compute and sensor
  hardware continuing.
• Lack algorithms for most applications. Current
  software is only competent in highly constrained
  (simple) environments.

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Immense Potential

• Very large number of talented engineers who are
  keenly interested in working on robotics.
• Almost no jobs in robotics because the lack of
  competent software has been a roadblock that
  severely limits the commercial viability of
  robotics firms.

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RAS Oregon Chapter - Objectives

• Bring together interested engineers to
• Share information about the latest research,
  technical ideas, developments, and applications.
• Organize activities to help expand the envelope
  of robotic capabilities.
• Strongly encourage supporting research and
  education.
• Provide a professional voice to check unrealistic
  marketing claims and expectations in the press.

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Organizational Meeting

• Thursday October 20th at 7 PM.
• OGI Wilson Center Room 407.
• I will bring in video from the DARPA Grand
  Challenge.
• We will discuss meeting topics/speakers and
  organizing a summer Mobile Robot Software
  Challenge.
• Free pizza/drinks will be provided.

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Brainstorm Future Topics

• DARPA Grand Challenge Teams
• CMU, Stanford, or Oregon State
• Dieter Fox U of Washington probabilistic
  space mapping algorithms.
• OGI Center for Spoken Language Understanding
• Intel Open Computer Vision Library
• I-Robot
• Boeing X45 Unmanned Combat Aircraft
• Hans Moravec
• Debate Consciousness, Commercial Viability,
  Social Ramifications
• Recent Developments in Theories and Algorithms
  for Robotics

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Mobile Robot Software Competition

• Seek to expand the envelope of mobile robot
  capabilities.
• In some ways, akin to the X Prize and DARPA Grand
  Challenge.

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Focus

• Advanced Robotics Software
• Development of advanced capabilities.
• This is not purely an educational exercise.
• Participation of Professional Engineers
• Continuous Improvement
• Frequent Regional Competitions
• Minimize Costs for Participants and Organizers

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Schedule

• Oregon chapter will run a competition in the
  summer of 2006.
• Request announcement in RAS magazine.
• 100 entry fee will cover cost of facilities and
  awards.
• Will not schedule in conflict with robotics major
  conferences.