{"174741":{"#nid":"174741","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Squirrels and Birds Inspire Researchers to Create Deceptive Robots","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUsing deceptive behavioral patterns of squirrels and birds, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed robots that are able to deceive each other. The research is funded by the Office of Naval Research and is led by Professor Ronald Arkin, who suggests the applications could be implemented by the military in the future. The research is \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/xpl\/articleDetails.jsp?tp=\u0026amp;arnumber=6365199\u0026amp;contentType=Journals+%26+Magazines\u0026amp;sortType%3Dasc_p_Sequence%26filter%3DAND%28p_IS_Number%3A6365196%29\u0022\u003Ehighlighted\u003C\/a\u003E in the November\/December 2012 edition of IEEE Intelligent Systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArkin and his team learned by reviewing biological research results that squirrels gather acorns and store them in specific locations. The animal then patrols the hidden caches, routinely going back and forth to check on them. When another squirrel shows up, hoping to raid the hiding spots, the hoarding squirrel changes its behavior. Instead of checking on the true locations, it visits empty cache sites, trying to deceive the predator.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArkin and his Ph.D. student Jaeeun Shim implemented the same strategy into a robotic model and demonstration. The deceptive behaviors worked. The deceiving robot lured the \u201cpredator\u201d robot to the false locations, delaying the discovery of the protected resources.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis application could be used by robots guarding ammunition or supplies on the battlefield,\u201d said Arkin, a Regents Professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing. \u201cIf an enemy were present, the robot could change its patrolling strategies to deceive humans or another intelligent machine, buying time until reinforcements are able to arrive.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EClick \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/play.media.gatech.edu\/s\/gatech.edu\/comm\/d8f76719-6053-590e-9092-7d6fd2299df2\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E to see a lab video of the demonstration.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArkin and his student Justin Davis have also created a simulation and demo based on birds that might bluff their way to safety. In Israel, Arabian babblers in danger of being attacked will sometimes join other birds and harass their predator. This mobbing process causes such a commotion that the predator will eventually give up the attack and leave.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EArkin\u0027s team investigated whether a simulated babbler is more likely to survive if it fakes or feigns strength when it doesn\u0027t exist. The team\u2019s simulations, based on biological models of dishonesty and the handicap principle, show that deception is the best strategy when the addition of deceitful agents pushes the size of the group to the minimum level required to frustrate the predator enough for it to flee. He says the reward for deceit in a few of the agents sometimes outweighs the risk of being caught.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn military operations, a robot that is threatened might feign the ability to combat adversaries without actually being able to effectively protect itself,\u201d said Arkin. \u201cBeing honest about the robot\u2019s abilities risks capture or destruction. Deception, if used at the right time in the right way, could possibly eliminate or minimize the threat.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom the Trojan Horse to D-Day, deception has always played a role during wartime. In fact, there is an entire Army field manual on its use and value in the battlefield. But Arkin is the first to admit that there are serious ethical questions regarding robot deception behavior with humans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWhen these research ideas and results leak outside the military domain, significant ethical concerns can arise,\u201d said Arkin. \u201cWe strongly encourage further discussion regarding the pursuit and application of research on deception for robots and intelligent machines.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis isn\u2019t the first time Arkin has worked in this field. In 2010, he and Georgia Tech Research Institute Research Engineer Alan Wagner studied how robots \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/newsroom\/release.html?nid=60881\u0022\u003Ecould use deceptive behavior to hide\u003C\/a\u003E from humans or other intelligent machines.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUsing deceptive behavioral patterns of squirrels and birds, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed robots that are able to deceive each other. The research is funded by the Office of Naval Research and is led by Professor Ronald Arkin, who suggests the applications could be implemented by the military in the future. The research is \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/xpl\/articleDetails.jsp?tp=\u0026amp;arnumber=6365199\u0026amp;contentType=Journals+%26+Magazines\u0026amp;sortType%3Dasc_p_Sequence%26filter%3DAND%28p_IS_Number%3A6365196%29\u0022\u003Ehighlighted\u003C\/a\u003E in the November\/December 2012 edition of IEEE Intelligent Systems.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Using deceptive behavioral patterns of squirrels and birds, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed robots that are able to deceive each other."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2012-12-03 10:42:38","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:18","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-12-03T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-12-03T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"174711":{"id":"174711","type":"image","title":"Deceptive Robots","body":null,"created":"1449179022","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:42","changed":"1475894816","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:56","alt":"Deceptive Robots","file":{"fid":"195832","name":"screen_shot_2012-12-03_at_9.19.30_am.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/screen_shot_2012-12-03_at_9.19.30_am_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/screen_shot_2012-12-03_at_9.19.30_am_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":852052,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/screen_shot_2012-12-03_at_9.19.30_am_0.png?itok=6KxkyBnW"}},"174721":{"id":"174721","type":"image","title":"Deceptive Robots 2","body":null,"created":"1449179022","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:42","changed":"1475894816","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:56","alt":"Deceptive Robots 2","file":{"fid":"195833","name":"screen_shot_2012-12-03_at_9.18.46_am.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/screen_shot_2012-12-03_at_9.18.46_am_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/screen_shot_2012-12-03_at_9.18.46_am_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":841775,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/screen_shot_2012-12-03_at_9.18.46_am_0.png?itok=kj0Ikkxp"}},"174771":{"id":"174771","type":"image","title":"Ronald Arkin","body":null,"created":"1449179022","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:43:42","changed":"1475894816","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:56","alt":"Ronald Arkin","file":{"fid":"195834","name":"ron_arkin_sept_2009.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ron_arkin_sept_2009_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ron_arkin_sept_2009_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":226935,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ron_arkin_sept_2009_0.jpg?itok=DNCB-HMm"}}},"media_ids":["174711","174721","174771"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/aimosaic\/faculty\/arkin\/","title":"Ronald Arkin Research Page"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/ai\/robot-lab\/online-publications\/jaeeun_sab2012_final.pdf","title":"Paper: Biologically-Inspired Deceptive Behavior for a Robot"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/ai\/robot-lab\/online-publications\/deception_in_mobbing.pdf","title":"Paper: Mobbing Behavior and Deceit and its role in Bio-inspired Autonomous Robotic Agents"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"2352","name":"robots"},{"id":"14444","name":"ron arkin"},{"id":"166848","name":"School of Interactive Computing"},{"id":"171241","name":"Squirrels"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EMedia Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966 \u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"172561":{"#nid":"172561","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Swarm robots perform classical \u0027scores\u0027 inside Georgia Tech\u0027s GritsLab","body":"","field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2012-11-21 14:18:16","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:09","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"public library","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/engt.co\/WxgLm9","dateline":{"date":"2012-11-20T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-11-20T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"165841":{"#nid":"165841","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Robots Get Around by Mimicking Primates","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBy mimicking how primates visualise an unfamiliar environment - a process called mental rotation - researchers are building a new kind of guidance system for robots. Ronald Arkin \u003Cem\u003E(Interactive Comp) \u003C\/em\u003Eis leading the effort to incorporate this technique into software for controlling robots. \u003Cem\u003ESource: New Scientist\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27556","created_gmt":"2012-10-29 10:33:56","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:04","author":"Michaelanne Dye","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/mg21628885.700-robots-get-around-by-mimicking-primates.html","dateline":{"date":"2012-10-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-10-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"48071","name":"Ronal Arkin; robots; primates"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"252741":{"#nid":"252741","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Finally, A Robot With The Ingenuity Of MacGyver","body":"","field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2013-11-08 22:31:15","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:48","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"cultural history of trees","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.redorbit.com\/news\/technology\/1112712697\/robot-rescue-macgyver-georgia-tech-101512\/","dateline":{"date":"2012-10-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-10-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"78811","name":"Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines"},{"id":"16551","name":"Mike Stilman"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"160721":{"#nid":"160721","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Robots Using Tools: With New Grant, Researchers Aim to Create \u2018MacGyver\u2019 Robot","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERobots are increasingly being used in place of humans to explore hazardous and difficult-to-access environments, but they aren\u2019t yet able to interact with their environments as well as humans. If today\u2019s most sophisticated robot was trapped in a burning room by a jammed door, it would probably not know how to locate and use objects in the room to climb over any debris, pry open the door, and escape the building.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA research team led by Professor Mike Stilman at the Georgia Institute of Technology hopes to change that by giving robots the ability to use objects in their environments to accomplish high-level tasks. The team recently received a three-year, $900,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research to work on this project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur goal is to develop a robot that behaves like MacGyver, the television character from the 1980s who solved complex problems and escaped dangerous situations by using everyday objects and materials he found at hand,\u201d said Stilman, an assistant professor in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech. \u201cWe want to understand the basic cognitive processes that allow humans to take advantage of arbitrary objects in their environments as tools. We will achieve this by designing algorithms for robots that make tasks that are impossible for a robot alone possible for a robot with tools.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research will build on Stilman\u2019s previous work on navigation among movable obstacles that enabled robots to autonomously recognize and move obstacles that were in the way of their getting from point A to point B.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis project is challenging because there is a critical difference between moving objects out of the way and using objects to make a way,\u201d explained Stilman. \u201cResearchers in the robot motion planning field have traditionally used computerized vision systems to locate objects in a cluttered environment to plan collision-free paths, but these systems have not provided any information about the objects\u2019 functions.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo create a robot capable of using objects in its environment to accomplish a task, Stilman plans to develop an algorithm that will allow a robot to identify an arbitrary object in a room, determine the object\u2019s potential function, and turn that object into a simple machine that can be used to complete an action. Actions could include using a chair to reach something high, bracing a ladder against a bookshelf, stacking boxes to climb over something, and building levers or bridges from random debris.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy providing the robot with basic knowledge of rigid body mechanics and simple machines, the robot should be able to autonomously determine the mechanical force properties of an object and construct motion plans for using the object to perform high-level tasks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor example, exiting a burning room with a jammed door would require a robot to travel around any fire, use an object in the room to apply sufficient force to open the stuck door, and locate an object in the room that will support its weight while it moves to get out of the room.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESuch skills could be extremely valuable in the future as robots work side-by-side with military personnel to accomplish challenging missions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Navy prides itself on recruiting, training and deploying our country\u2019s most resourceful and intelligent men and women,\u201d said Paul Bello, director of the cognitive science program in the Office of Naval Research (ONR). \u201cNow that robotic systems are becoming more pervasive as teammates for warfighters in military operations, we must ensure that they are both intelligent and resourceful. Professor Stilman\u2019s work on the \u2018MacGyver-bot\u2019 is the first of its kind, and is already beginning to deliver on the promise of mechanical teammates able to creatively perform in high-stakes situations.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo address the complexity of the human-like reasoning required for this type of scenario, Stilman is collaborating with researchers Pat Langley and Dongkyu Choi. Langley is the director of the Institute for the Study of Learning and Expertise (ISLE), and is recognized as a co-founder of the field of machine learning, where he championed both experimental studies of learning algorithms and their application to real-world problems. Choi is an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kansas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELangley and Choi will expand the cognitive architecture they developed, called ICARUS, which provides an infrastructure for modeling various human capabilities like perception, inference, performance and learning in robots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe believe a hybrid reasoning system that embeds our physics-based algorithms within a cognitive architecture will create a more general, efficient and structured control system for our robot that will accrue more benefits than if we used one approach alone,\u201d said Stilman.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter the researchers develop and optimize the hybrid reasoning system using computer simulations, they plan to test the software using Golem Krang, a humanoid robot designed and built in Stilman\u2019s laboratory to study whole-body robotic planning and control.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EThis research is sponsored by the Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research, through grant number N00014-12-1-0143. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Office of Naval Research.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA Georgia Tech research team has received a grant from the Office of Naval Research to work on a project that intends to teach robots how to use objects in their environment to accomplish high-level tasks.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New project is designed to teach robots how to use objects in the environment to accomplish high-level tasks"}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2012-10-09 08:22:20","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:58","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-10-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"160691":{"id":"160691","type":"image","title":"MacGyver Grant, Photo 1","body":null,"created":"1449178896","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:36","changed":"1475894796","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:36","alt":"MacGyver Grant, Photo 1","file":{"fid":"195405","name":"macgyver-1-cropped_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/macgyver-1-cropped_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/macgyver-1-cropped_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":74337,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/macgyver-1-cropped_0_0.jpg?itok=0YGXIhCi"}},"160701":{"id":"160701","type":"image","title":"MacGyver Grant, Photo 2","body":null,"created":"1449178896","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:36","changed":"1475894796","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:36","alt":"MacGyver Grant, Photo 2","file":{"fid":"195406","name":"macgyver-robot-9680.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/macgyver-robot-9680_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/macgyver-robot-9680_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1118956,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/macgyver-robot-9680_0.jpg?itok=nJjsjaEd"}},"160711":{"id":"160711","type":"image","title":"MacGyver Grant, Photo 3","body":null,"created":"1449178896","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:36","changed":"1475894796","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:36","alt":"MacGyver Grant, Photo 3","file":{"fid":"195407","name":"macgyver-robot-9651.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/macgyver-robot-9651_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/macgyver-robot-9651_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1044485,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/macgyver-robot-9651_0.jpg?itok=QH5uCk_E"}}},"media_ids":["160691","160701","160711"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/~mstilman\/","title":"Mike Stillman Website"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Computing"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ic.gatech.edu\/about","title":"School of Interactive Computing"},{"url":"http:\/\/robotics.gatech.edu\/","title":"Center for Robotics \u0026 Intelligent Machines"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"45961","name":"Golem Krang"},{"id":"45951","name":"MacGyver"},{"id":"11527","name":"Mike Stillman"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E \u003Cbr \/\u003E 404-894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"158691":{"#nid":"158691","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Tony Yezzi Named as Ken Byers Professor","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAnthony J. Yezzi has been named as a Ken Byers Professor, effective October 1. Dr. Yezzi has been a faculty member with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech since 1999.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs the director of the Laboratory of Computational Computer Vision, Dr. Yezzi has over 20 years of research experience in image processing, computer vision, and shape optimization using geometric partial differential equations. Applications of his research group\u0027s work include medical imaging, 3D surface reconstruction, and visual tracking. An active industrial consultant, Dr. Yezzi recently formed Vintinura Imaging, Inc., a startup company that is being hosted by ATDC\/VentureLab and is focused on image analysis solutions, particularly those connected with shape detection, tracking, and optimization. He is the author of almost 200 peer-reviewed publications and holds a patent for user-interactive 3D medical image MRI segmentation which has been used within General Electric\u0027s MRI image analysis package for the past 10 years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA strong proponent of international education opportunities, Dr. Yezzi has spent the last five years fostering international relationships between Georgia Tech and top Italian engineering universities. He has been the director of the dual master\u0027s degree program between Georgia Tech and Politecnico di Torino (PdT) since 2008. He has also been instrumental in developing joint Ph.D. programs between Georgia Tech and both PdT and Politecnico di Milano that were recently approved by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EECE Professor Anthony J. Yezzi has been named as a Ken Byers Professor, effective October 1.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"ECE Professor Anthony J. Yezzi has been named as a Ken Byers Professor, effective October 1."}],"uid":"27241","created_gmt":"2012-10-02 16:48:27","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:54","author":"Jackie Nemeth","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-10-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-10-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"159731":{"id":"159731","type":"image","title":"Anthony J. Yezzi","body":null,"created":"1449178896","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:41:36","changed":"1475894794","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:34","alt":"Anthony J. Yezzi","file":{"fid":"195387","name":"tony_yezzi_2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tony_yezzi_2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tony_yezzi_2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4688049,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tony_yezzi_2_0.jpg?itok=WQf4VTlP"}}},"media_ids":["159731"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff\/fac_profiles\/bio.php?id=116","title":"Anthony J. Yezzi"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/research\/labs\/lccv\/","title":"Lab of Computational Computer Vision"}],"groups":[{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"45311","name":"Anthony J. Yezzi"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"166855","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJackie Nemeth\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-894-2906\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"252751":{"#nid":"252751","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"How Rethink Robotics Built Its New Baxter Robot Worker","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBuilding robots for these small and medium-size companies \u201cis a fantastic opportunity,\u201d says\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.hichristensen.net\/\u0022\u003EHenrik I. Christensen\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor of robotics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, who\u2019s an expert in industrial automation. (He has no ties to Rethink.) There are many tasks, he says, that don\u2019t require the speed and precision of today\u2019s industrial robots, and these tasks are begging to be automated. \u2029\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2013-11-08 22:45:16","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:48","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"\u00a0Linda Wills","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/spectrum.ieee.org\/robotics\/industrial-robots\/rethink-robotics-baxter-robot-factory-worker","dateline":{"date":"2012-09-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-09-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"78861","name":"Henrik I. Christensen"},{"id":"78811","name":"Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"155051":{"#nid":"155051","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Robot researchers learn lessons of lizard locomotion","body":"","field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2012-09-18 08:13:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:25:57","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"backpack supply drive","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.reuters.com\/video\/2012\/09\/17\/reuters-tv-robot-researchers-learn-lessons-of-lizar?videoId=237799756\u0026videoChannel=118065","dateline":{"date":"2012-09-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-09-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"154791":{"#nid":"154791","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Andrea Thomaz Named \u0022Brilliant 10\u0022","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe top-tier science magazine,\u003Cem\u003E\u0026nbsp;Popular Science\u003C\/em\u003E, has named \u003Cstrong\u003EAndrea Thomaz, assistant professor in Georgia Tech\u2019s School of Interactive Computing\u003C\/strong\u003E, one of 2012\u2019s \u201cBrilliant 10,\u201d an award given by the publication to ten scientists under 40 whose innovations will change the world.\u0026nbsp; Thomaz, along with nine other researchers, is featured in the October issue of the magazine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs Director of the College of Computing\u2019s Socially Intelligent Machines research lab, Thomaz \u2018s research focuses on all aspects of human-robot interaction and, specifically, on machines that learn new tasks and goals from ordinary people in everyday environments. This research works from the assumption that machines meant to learn from people can better take advantage of the ways in which people naturally approach teaching.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough the development of new computational models, Thomaz is working to build machines that participate in social learning environments.\u0026nbsp; As a result, she has improved the performance of a machine\u0027s learning behavior through attention to human interaction and improving the experience of the human teacher by designing interactive learning algorithms based on how people teach, in order to develop a smooth human-robot relationship. Thomaz\u2019s work with robotics opens up a wider world of personal robotics, in which machines are doing anything their owners can program them to do\u2014without actually being programmers.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EIn 2009, Thomaz was awarded the prestigious \u201cMIT Tech Review 2009 Young Innovators Under 35\u201d for her work in robot-human interaction and the development of Simon.\u0026nbsp; Additionally, she has been named a College of Computing Professor of Excellence for her outstanding contributions to the Institute and to her field of study. Thomaz holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27659","created_gmt":"2012-09-17 12:59:33","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:50","author":"Christopher Ernst","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-09-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-09-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/news\/andrea-thomaz-named-brilliant-10","title":"Source: CoC Newsroom"}],"groups":[{"id":"1299","name":"GVU Center"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"252821":{"#nid":"252821","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Robotics Student Wins President\u2019s Undergraduate Research Award","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERamya Ramakrishnan, who is advised by \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/robotics.gatech.edu\/team\/faculty\/thomaz\u0022\u003EAndrea Thomaz\u003C\/a\u003E, received the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.undergradresearch.gatech.edu\/pura\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EPresident\u2019s Undergraduate Research Award (PURA)\u003C\/a\u003E. This award will support the project \u201cImproving Robot Behavior through Both Self and Human Social Learning.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERamya Ramakrishnan (advisor Dr. Andrea Thomaz) received the President\u2019s Undergraduate Research Award (PURA). This award will support the project \u201cImproving Robot Behavior through Both Self and Human Social Learning.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2013-11-09 12:23:45","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:18","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-09-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-09-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"79371","name":"Andrea L. Thomaz"},{"id":"9266","name":"President\u0027s Undergraduate Research Awards"},{"id":"1421","name":"PURA"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJosie Giles\u003Cbr \/\u003EIRIM Marketing Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-8551\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["josie@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"152661":{"#nid":"152661","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Ayanna Howard Named as Motorola Foundation Professor","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAyanna Howard has been named as the Motorola Foundation Professor, effective August 15. She is a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Howard started working at Georgia Tech in 2005, where she serves as the director of Human-Automation Systems Lab in ECE and as the advisor of eight Ph.D. students and two M.S. thesis students. In addition, Dr. Howard serves as the chair of the Institute\u0027s multidisciplinary robotics Ph.D. program.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer area of research is centered around the concept of humanized intelligence, the process of embedding human cognitive ability into the control path of autonomous systems. Dr. Howard\u0027s work has resulted in over 100 peer-reviewed publications about projects ranging from scientific rover navigation in glacier environments to assistive robots for the home. Some new research directions include robotic applications for child therapy and rehabilitation, tele-presence for persons with visual impairments, haptic and wearable device interfaces, behavior modeling for diagnosis and intervention, and medical and health care mobile apps.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ETo date, Dr. Howard\u0027s work has been highlighted through a number of awards, articles, and televised interviews and programs, including \u003Cem\u003EUSA Today\u003C\/em\u003E, \u003Cem\u003ETIME Magazine\u003C\/em\u003E, CNN, and American Public Television. Her recent awards include the 2008 Georgia Tech Faculty Woman of Distinction Award, the 2008 ECE Outreach Award, and the 2009 Janice A. Lumpkin Educator of the Year Award, given by the National Society of Black Engineers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EECE Professor Ayanna Howard has been named as the Motorola Foundation Professor, effective August 15.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"ECE Professor Ayanna Howard has been named as the Motorola Foundation Professor, effective August 15."}],"uid":"27241","created_gmt":"2012-09-09 15:05:10","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:47","author":"Jackie Nemeth","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-09-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"152671":{"id":"152671","type":"image","title":"Ayanna Howard","body":null,"created":"1449178848","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:40:48","changed":"1475894787","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:27","alt":"Ayanna Howard","file":{"fid":"195221","name":"ayanna_howard.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ayanna_howard_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ayanna_howard_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1687545,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ayanna_howard_0.jpg?itok=gxxcIU_m"}}},"media_ids":["152671"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.ece.gatech.edu\/faculty-staff\/fac_profiles\/bio.php?id=135","title":"Profile"},{"url":"http:\/\/humanslab.ece.gatech.edu\/humansWeb\/Home.html","title":"Human-Automation Systems Lab"}],"groups":[{"id":"1255","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"825","name":"Ayanna Howard"},{"id":"109","name":"Georgia Tech"},{"id":"166855","name":"School of Electrical and Computer Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJackie Nemeth\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-894-2906\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jackie.nemeth@ece.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"144381":{"#nid":"144381","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Micron-Scale Swimming Robots Could Deliver Drugs \u0026 Carry Cargo Using Simple Motion","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen you\u2019re just a few microns long, swimming can be difficult. At that size scale, the viscosity of water is more like that of honey, and momentum can\u2019t be relied upon to maintain forward motion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMicroorganisms, of course, have evolved ways to swim in spite of these challenges, but tiny robots haven\u2019t quite caught up. Now a team of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology has used complex computational models to design swimming micro-robots that could overcome these challenges to carry cargo and navigate in response to stimuli such as light.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen they\u2019re actually built some day, these simple micro-swimmers could rely on volume changes in unique materials known as hydrogels to move tiny flaps that will propel the robots. The micro-devices could be used in drug delivery, lab-on-a-chip microfluidic systems \u2013 and even as micro-construction robots working in swarms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe simple micro-swimmers were described July 23 in the online advance edition of the journal \u003Cem\u003ESoft Matter\u003C\/em\u003E, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry in the United Kingdom.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe believe that our simulations will give experimentalists a reason to pursue development of these micro-swimmers to go beyond what is available now,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/alexeev\u0022\u003EAlexander Alexeev\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech. \u201cWe wanted to demonstrate the principle of how robots this small could move by determining what is important and what would need to be used to build a real system.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe simple swimmer designed by Alexeev and collaborators Hassan Masoud and Benjamin Bingham consists of a responsive gel body about ten microns long with two propulsive flaps attached to opposite sides. A steering flap sensitive to specific stimuli would be located at the front of the swimmer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe responsive gel body would undergo periodic expansions and contractions triggered by oscillatory chemical reactions, oscillating magnetic or electric fields, or by cycles of temperature change. These expansions and contractions \u2013 the chemical swelling and de-swelling of the material \u2013 would create a beating motion in the rigid propulsive flaps attached to each side of the micro-swimmer. Combined with the movement of the gel body, the beating motion would move the micro-swimmer forward.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe trajectory of the micro-swimmer would be controlled by a flexible steering flap on its front. The flap would be made of a material that deforms based on changes in light intensity, temperature or magnetic field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe combination of these flaps and the oscillating body creates a very nice motion that we believe can be used to propel the swimmer,\u201d said Alexeev. \u201cTo build a device that is autonomous and self-propelling at the micron-scale, we cannot build a tiny submarine. We have to keep it simple.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKey to the operation of the micro-swimmer would be the latest generation of hydrogels, materials whose volume changes in a cyclical way. The hydrogels would serve as \u201cchemical engines\u201d to provide the motion needed to move the device\u2019s propulsive flaps. Such materials currently exist and are being improved upon for other applications.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are using the state-of-the art in materials science, changing the properties of the material,\u201d explained Masoud, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Mechanical Engineering. \u201cWe have combined the materials with the principles of hydrodynamics at the small scale to develop this new swimmer.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs part of their modeling, the researchers examined the effects of flaps of different sizes and properties. They also studied how flexible the micro-swimmer\u2019s body needed to be to produce the kind of movement needed for swimming.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou can\u2019t swim at the small scale in the same way you swim at the large scale,\u201d Alexeev said. \u201cThere is no inertia, which is how you keep moving at the large scale. What happens at the small scale is counterintuitive to what you expect at the large scale.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe computational fluid modeling the researchers used allowed them to study a wide range of parameters in materials, oscillation rates and flexibility. What they learned, Alexeev said, will give experimentalists a starting point for actually building prototypes of the flexible gel robots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe have captured the solid mechanics of the periodically-oscillating body, the fluid dynamics of moving through the viscous liquid, and the coupling between the two,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom a computational fluid dynamics standpoint, it\u2019s not an easy problem to model at this scale.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUltimately, the researchers hope to work with an experimental team to actually build the micro-swimmers. Combining their theoretical work with actual experiments could be a powerful approach to building robots on this size scale.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThis is a simulation that we hope to see in real life one day,\u201d Alexeev said. \u201cWe have learned how experimentalists can pursue fabrication of these devices without extensive trial-and-error. We can use the simulations to look inside what will happen by using the laws of physics to explain it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers envision groups of micro-swimmers carrying cargo through microfluidic chips or other devices. Swarms of them could one day work together as tiny construction robots moving materials to desired locations for assembly.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut the micro-swimmers won\u2019t win any Olympic competitions. Alexeev estimates that their top speed could be on the order of a few micrometers per second \u2013 which should be enough to accomplish their mission.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf your body is micrometers in size, that kind of speed is really not too bad,\u201d he said. \u201cThe swimming speed will be rather slow, but at that size scale, you don\u2019t really need to go very fast since you only need to go short distances.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECitation\u003C\/strong\u003E: Hassan Masoud, Benjamin I. Bingham and Alexander Alexeev, Soft Matter, 2012, Advance Article. DOI: 10.1039\/C2SM25898F.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 309\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30308\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have used complex computational models to design micro-swimmers that could overcome the challenges of swimming at the micron scale. These autonomous micro-robots could carry cargo and navigate in response to stimuli such as light.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Computational modeling shows how micro-swimmers could overcome the challenges of swimming at the micron scale."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2012-08-05 22:17:18","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:36","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-08-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-08-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"144371":{"id":"144371","type":"image","title":"Image of Simulated Micro-Swimmer","body":null,"created":"1449178739","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:59","changed":"1475894777","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:17","alt":"Image of Simulated Micro-Swimmer","file":{"fid":"195034","name":"microswimmer.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/microswimmer_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/microswimmer_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":572475,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/microswimmer_0.jpg?itok=NuXeZORt"}}},"media_ids":["144371"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"39581","name":"Alexander Alexeev"},{"id":"39591","name":"computational modeling"},{"id":"3356","name":"hydrogel"},{"id":"39571","name":"micro-robot"},{"id":"39561","name":"micro-swimmer"},{"id":"1356","name":"robot"},{"id":"167377","name":"School of Mechanical Engineering"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39471","name":"Materials"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"252811":{"#nid":"252811","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Robots, Re-shoring and America\u2019s Manufacturing Renaissance","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn this review of\u0026nbsp;robots helping to raise the curtain on a new U.S. industrial landscape, Henrik Christensen addresses the fear of robots replacing workers, saying these fears are natural but unfounded. He cites the 2011 Metra Martech market research that claims that the robotics industry will create one million new jobs; robots and humans will be manufacturing things \u201ctogether\u201d for a long time to come.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2013-11-09 12:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:48","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Dhekne","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.roboticstrends.com\/industry_manufacturing\/article\/robots_re_shoring_and_americas_manufacturing_renaissance","dateline":{"date":"2012-08-02T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-08-02T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"78861","name":"Henrik I. Christensen"},{"id":"215","name":"manufacturing"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"143171":{"#nid":"143171","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"New Robots Giving the Disabled Independence","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECharlie Kemp (\u003Cem\u003EInteractive Comp\u003C\/em\u003E) and his team are working to build robots that help the disabled with everyday tasks; a stroke victim is already successfully using one of the robots in his home. \u003Cem\u003ESource: CBS News\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27556","created_gmt":"2012-07-30 10:44:02","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:25:51","author":"Michaelanne Dye","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Roswell Biotechnologies","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/8301-18563_162-57481945\/new-robots-giving-the-disabled-independence\/?tag=showDoorFlexGridLeft;flexGridMod","dateline":{"date":"2012-07-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-07-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"39141","name":"Charlie Kemp; College of Engineering; Robotics; Disabled; Robots;"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"140221":{"#nid":"140221","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Musical Glove Improves Sensation, Mobility for People with Spinal Cord Injury","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers have created a wireless, musical glove that may improve sensation and motor skills for people with paralyzing spinal cord injury (SCI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe gadget was successfully used by individuals with limited feeling or movement in their hands due to tetraplegia. These individuals had sustained their injury more than a year before the study, a time frame when most rehab patients see very little improvement for the remainder of their lives.\u0026nbsp; Remarkably, the device was primarily used while the participants were going about their daily routines.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe device is called \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Zi6t89pi17c\u0022\u003EMobile Music Touch\u003C\/a\u003E (MMT). The glove, which looks like a workout glove with a small box on the back, is used with a piano keyboard and vibrates a person\u2019s fingers to indicate which keys to play. While learning to play the instrument, several people with SCI experienced improved sensation in their fingers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech and Atlanta\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.shepherd.org\/\u0022\u003EShepherd Center\u003C\/a\u003E recently completed a study focusing on people with weakness and sensory loss due to SCI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAfter our preliminary work in 2011, we suspected that the glove would have positive results for people with SCI,\u201d said Ph.D. graduate Tanya Markow, the project\u2019s leader. \u201cBut we were surprised by how much improvement they made in our study. For example, after using the glove, some participants were able to feel the texture of their bed sheets and clothes for the first time since their injury.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMarkow worked with individuals with SCI who had limited feeling or movement in their hands. Each suffered a spinal injury more than a year prior to the study. The eight-week project required study participants to practice playing the piano for 30 minutes, three times a week.\u0026nbsp; Half used the MMT glove to practice; half did not.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe MMT system works with a computer, MP3 player or smart phone. A song, such as Ode to Joy, is programmed into a device, which is wirelessly linked to the glove. As the musical notes are illuminated on the correct keys on the piano keyboard, the gadget sends vibrations to \u201ctap\u201d the corresponding fingers. The participants play along, gradually memorizing the keys and learning additional songs.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, these active learning sessions with MMT were not the primary focus of the study.\u0026nbsp; The participants also wore the glove at home for two hours a day, five days a week, feeling only the vibration (and not playing the piano).\u0026nbsp; Previous studies showed that wearing the MMT system passively in this manner helped participants learn songs faster and retain them better.\u0026nbsp; The researchers hoped that the passive wearing of the device would also have rehabilitative effects.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the end of the study, participants performed a variety of common grasping and sensation tests to measure their improvement.\u0026nbsp; Those who used the MMT system performed significantly better than those who just learned the piano normally.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSome people were able to pick up objects more easily,\u201d said Markow. \u201cAnother said he could immediately feel the heat from a cup of coffee, rather than after a delay.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMarkow believes the increased motor abilities could be caused by renewed brain activity that sometimes becomes dormant in persons with SCI. The vibration might be triggering activity in the hand\u2019s sensory cortex, which leads to firing in the brain\u2019s motor cortex. Markow would like to expand the study to include functional MRI results.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe glove has evolved in recent years under the leadership of Georgia Tech\u2019s Thad Starner and Ellen Yi-Luen Do, as well as Deborah Backus, director of multiple sclerosis research at Shepherd Center. The initial concept, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/newsroom\/release.html?nid=39815\u0022\u003EPiano Touch\u003C\/a\u003E, developed with the team by then master\u2019s student Kevin Huang, demonstrated that people could easily learn to play the piano by wearing the glove and feeling its vibrations. It didn\u2019t take long for Starner to see the larger health benefits.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEquipment used for hand rehabilitation may seem monotonous and boring to some, and doesn\u2019t provide any feedback or incentive,\u201d said Starner, who oversees the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/%7Ethad\/\u0022\u003EContextual Computing Group\u003C\/a\u003E. \u201cMobile Music Touch overcomes each of those challenges and provides surprising benefits for people with weakness and sensory loss due to SCI. It\u2019s a great example of how wearable computing can change people\u2019s lives.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStarner is an associate professor in the School of Interactive Computing. Do is a professor in the Schools of Interactive Computing and Industrial Design.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers at Georgia Tech and Atlanta\u0027s Shepherd Center have created a wireless, musical glove that may improve sensation and motor skills for people with spinal cord injuries (SCI). The gadget, Mobile Music Touch, was successfully used by individuals with tetraplegia who suffered their injury more than year before the study, a time frame when most rehab patients see very little improvement for the remainder of their lives.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech has created a wireless, musical glove that may improve sensation and motor skills for people with paralyzing spinal cord injury."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2012-07-16 08:59:10","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:29","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-07-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-07-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"140181":{"id":"140181","type":"image","title":"Mobile Music Touch Glove 1","body":null,"created":"1449178710","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:30","changed":"1475894771","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:11","alt":"Mobile Music Touch Glove 1","file":{"fid":"194912","name":"dscn1051.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn1051_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn1051_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2646814,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dscn1051_0.jpg?itok=WZckZ00V"}},"140191":{"id":"140191","type":"image","title":"Mobile Music Touch Glove 2","body":null,"created":"1449178710","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:30","changed":"1475894771","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:11","alt":"Mobile Music Touch Glove 2","file":{"fid":"194913","name":"dscn1056.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn1056_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn1056_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2641293,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dscn1056_0.jpg?itok=Jhj46up6"}},"140201":{"id":"140201","type":"image","title":"Mobile Music Touch Glove 3","body":null,"created":"1449178710","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:30","changed":"1475894771","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:11","alt":"Mobile Music Touch Glove 3","file":{"fid":"194914","name":"dscn1057.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn1057_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn1057_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2698336,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dscn1057_0.jpg?itok=ZLejdUDF"}}},"media_ids":["140181","140191","140201"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Zi6t89pi17c","title":"Mobile Music Touch Demonstration"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/~thad\/","title":"Contextual Computing Group"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Computing"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.coa.gatech.edu\/","title":"Georgia Tech College of Architecture"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"42891","name":"Georgia Tech Arts"},{"id":"42941","name":"Art Research"},{"id":"148","name":"Music and Music Technology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1946","name":"GVU"},{"id":"38081","name":"Mobile Music Touch"},{"id":"1942","name":"Piano Touch"},{"id":"1944","name":"Thad Starner"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EMedia Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"140771":{"#nid":"140771","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Lizard bot shows how to scamper over the sand","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDaniel Goldman\u0027s CRAB lab creates lizard bot that can run on sand which\u0026nbsp;could provide insights that will allow better Martian rovers to be built.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27195","created_gmt":"2012-07-17 13:36:03","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:25:48","author":"Colly Mitchell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.newscientist.com\/article\/mg21528735.500-lizard-bot-shows-how-to-scamper-over-the-sand.html","dateline":{"date":"2012-07-17T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-07-17T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12040","name":"Daniel Goldman"},{"id":"38331","name":"Lizard bot shows how to scamper over the sand"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"252831":{"#nid":"252831","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Student Wins Best Student Paper Award at Robotics Science \u0026 Systems Meeting","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAuthored by\u0026nbsp;Ph.D. student Feifei Qian, \u0022Walking and Running on Yielding and Fluidizing Ground\u0022\u0026nbsp;has been awarded the Best Student Paper at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.roboticsproceedings.org\/rss08\/index.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ERobotics Science \u0026amp; Systems (RSS) 2012 meeting\u003C\/a\u003E in Sydney, Australia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EQian is advised by \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/robotics.gatech.edu\/team\/faculty\/goldman\u0022\u003EDaniel Goldman\u003C\/a\u003E, and the paper discusses his work with the detailed locomotor mechanics of a small, lightweight robot (DynaRoACH, 10 cm, 25 g), revealing a mechanism by which small animals can achieve high performance on granular substrates, which also advances the design and control of small robots in deformable terrains.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2013-11-09 12:37:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:15:18","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-07-13T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-07-13T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12040","name":"Daniel Goldman"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJosie Giles\u003Cbr \/\u003EIRIM Marketing Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-8551\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["josie@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"252801":{"#nid":"252801","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Human-like Eye Movement Could Aid Robots","body":"","field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2013-11-09 11:51:07","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:48","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Hungtang Ko","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.upi.com\/Science_News\/Technology\/2012\/07\/06\/Human-like-eye-movement-could-aid-robots\/UPI-26341341607592\/#ixzz20FdmkHrL","dateline":{"date":"2012-07-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-07-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"138981":{"#nid":"138981","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Robot Vision: Muscle-Like Action Allows Camera to Mimic Human Eye Movement","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUsing piezoelectric materials, researchers have replicated the muscle motion of the human eye to control camera systems in a way designed to improve the operation of robots. This new muscle-like action could help make robotic tools safer and more effective for MRI-guided surgery and robotic rehabilitation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKey to the new control system is a piezoelectric cellular actuator that uses a novel biologically inspired technology that will allow a robot eye to move more like a real eye. This will be useful for research studies on human eye movement as well as making video feeds from robots more intuitive. The research is being conducted by Ph.D. candidate Joshua Schultz under the direction of assistant professor \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/ueda\u0022\u003EJun Ueda\u003C\/a\u003E, both from the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor a robot to be truly bio-inspired, it should possess actuation, or motion generators, with properties in common with the musculature of biological organisms,\u201d said Schultz. \u201cThe actuators developed in our lab embody many properties in common with biological muscle, especially a cellular structure. Essentially, in the human eye muscles are controlled by neural impulses. Eventually, the actuators we are developing will be used to capture the kinematics and performance of the human eye.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDetails of the research were presented June 25, 2012, at the IEEE International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics in Rome, Italy. The research is funded by National Science Foundation. Schultz also receives partial support from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUeda, who leads the Georgia Tech Bio-Robotics and Human Modeling Laboratory in the School of Mechanical Engineering, said this novel technology will lay the groundwork for investigating research questions in systems that possess a large number of active units operating together. The application ranges from industrial robots, medical and rehabilitation robots to intelligent assistive robots.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cRobustness against uncertainty of model and environment is crucial for robots physically interacting with humans and environments,\u201d said Ueda. \u201cSuccessful integration relies on the coordinated design of control, structure, actuators and sensors by considering the dynamic interaction among them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPiezoelectric materials expand or contract when electricity is applied to them, providing a way to transform input signals into motion. This principle is the basis for piezoelectric actuators that have been used in numerous applications, but use in robotics applications has been limited due to piezoelectric ceramic\u0027s minuscule displacement. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe cellular actuator concept developed by the research team was inspired by biological muscle structure that connects many small actuator units in series or in parallel.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech team has developed a lightweight, high speed approach that includes a single-degree of freedom camera positioner that can be used to illustrate and understand the performance and control of biologically inspired actuator technology. This new technology uses less energy than traditional camera positioning mechanisms and is compliant for more flexibility.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEach muscle-like actuator has a piezoelectric material and a nested hierarchical set of strain amplifying mechanisms,\u201d said Ueda. \u201cWe are presenting a mathematical concept that can be used to predict the performance as well as select the required geometry of nested structures. We use the design of the camera positioning mechanism\u2019s actuators to demonstrate the concepts.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe scientists\u2019 research shows mechanisms that can scale up the displacement of piezoelectric stacks to the range of the ocular positioning system. In the past, the piezoelectric stacks available for this purpose have been too small.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur research shows a two-port network model that describes compliant strain amplification mechanisms that increase the stroke length of the stacks,\u201d said Schultz. \u201cOur findings make a contribution to the use of piezoelectric stack devices in robotics, modeling, design and simulation of compliant mechanisms. It also advances the control of systems using a large number of motor units for a given degree of freedom and control of robotic actuators.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the study, the scientists sought to resolve a previous conundrum. A cable-driven eye could produce the eye\u2019s kinematics, but rigid servomotors would not allow researchers to test the hypothesis for the neurological basis for eye motion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome measure of flexibility could be used in software with traditional actuators, but it depended largely on having a continuously variable control signal and it could not show how flexibility could be maintained with quantized actuation corresponding to neural recruitment phenomena.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cEach muscle-like actuator consists of a piezoelectric material and a nested hierarchical set of strain amplifying mechanisms,\u201d said Ueda. \u201cUnlike traditional actuators, piezoelectric cellular actuators are governed by the working principles of muscles - namely, motion results by discretely activating, or recruiting, sets of active fibers, called motor units.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cMotor units are linked by flexible tissue, which serves a two-fold function,\u201d said Ueda. \u201cIt combines the action potential of each motor unit, and presents a compliant interface with the world, which is critical in unstructured environments.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Tech team has presented a camera positioner driven by a novel cellular actuator technology, using a contractile ceramic to generate motion. The team used 16 amplified piezoelectric stacks per side.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe use of multiple stacks addressed the need for more layers of amplification. The units were placed inside a rhomboidal mechanism. The work offers an analysis of the force-displacement tradeoffs involved in the actuator design and shows how to find geometry that meets the requirement of the camera positioner, said Schultz.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe goal of scaling up piezoelectric ceramic stacks holds great potential to more accurately replicate human eye motion than previous actuators,\u201d noted Schultz. \u201cFuture work in this area will involve implantation of this technology on a multi-degree of freedom device, applying open and closed loop control algorithms for positioning and analysis of co-contraction phenomena.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFuture research by his team will continue to focus on the development of a design framework for highly integrated robotic systems. This ranges from industrial robots to medical and rehabilitation robots to intelligent assistive robots. \u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 309\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30308\u0026nbsp; USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contact\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Sarah E. Goodwin\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUsing piezoelectric materials, researchers have replicated the muscle motion of the human eye to control camera systems in a way designed to improve the operation of robots. This new muscle-like action could help make robotic tools safer and more effective for MRI-guided surgery and robotic rehabilitation.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Stacks of piezoelectric actuators that simulate the action of real muscles could give robots more human-like eyes."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2012-07-05 13:38:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:29","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-07-05T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-07-05T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"138951":{"id":"138951","type":"image","title":"Piezoelectric-vision1","body":null,"created":"1449178698","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:18","changed":"1475894769","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:09","alt":"Piezoelectric-vision1","file":{"fid":"194885","name":"piezoelectric-vision1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/piezoelectric-vision1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/piezoelectric-vision1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":390966,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/piezoelectric-vision1_0.jpg?itok=zp1F5d87"}},"138961":{"id":"138961","type":"image","title":"Piezoelectric-vision2","body":null,"created":"1449178698","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:18","changed":"1475894769","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:09","alt":"Piezoelectric-vision2","file":{"fid":"194886","name":"piezoelectric-vision2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/piezoelectric-vision2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/piezoelectric-vision2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":404032,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/piezoelectric-vision2_0.jpg?itok=8sApV_qy"}},"138971":{"id":"138971","type":"image","title":"Piezoelectric-vision4","body":null,"created":"1449178698","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:38:18","changed":"1475894769","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:46:09","alt":"Piezoelectric-vision4","file":{"fid":"194887","name":"piezoelectric-vision4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/piezoelectric-vision4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/piezoelectric-vision4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":760623,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/piezoelectric-vision4_0.jpg?itok=R4m1srhb"}}},"media_ids":["138951","138961","138971"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"13887","name":"Jun Ueda"},{"id":"7699","name":"piezoelectric"},{"id":"37861","name":"piezoelectric actuator"},{"id":"1356","name":"robot"},{"id":"167377","name":"School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"820","name":"vision"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"138041":{"#nid":"138041","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Shimi the Dancing Robotic Smartphone Dock","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGil Weinberg (\u003Cem\u003EInteractive Computing\u003C\/em\u003E) has developed a one-foot-tall (30 cm) smartphone-enabled robot called Shimi, whichi can recommend songs, dance to the beat and play tunes based on listener feedback.\u003Cem\u003E Source: Gizmag\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27556","created_gmt":"2012-06-27 11:53:08","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:25:46","author":"Michaelanne Dye","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"student registration","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/bit.ly\/M4AtkR","dateline":{"date":"2012-06-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-06-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"},{"id":"148","name":"Music and Music Technology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"1939","name":"Gil Weinberg"},{"id":"1180","name":"Music"},{"id":"1309","name":"music technology"},{"id":"37381","name":"musical companion"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"168949","name":"Shimi"},{"id":"168908","name":"smartphone"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"261011":{"#nid":"261011","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Georgia Tech Robot Repairs Road Ruptures","body":"","field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2013-12-13 23:21:45","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:54","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"sidewalk","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.govtech.com\/transportation\/Georgia-Tech-Robot-Repairs-Road-Ruptures.html","dateline":{"date":"2012-06-26T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-06-26T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"82181","name":"pavement crack detection system"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"2352","name":"robots"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"252781":{"#nid":"252781","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Advanced Manufacturing Will Drive U.S. Economic Engine","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERecognizing the importance of advanced manufacturing in rebuilding the economy, the Obama administration created an Office of Manufacturing Policy and the $500 million \u201cAdvanced Manufacturing Partnership\u201d (AMP), which calls for the creation of 500,000 credentialed workers in advanced manufacturing with industry certifications. The Georgia Institute of Technology, one of six academic institutions part of the steering committee for the AMP, is a leader in manufacturing robotics technology and will use a gift of nearly $1 million in robotics equipment from Coca-Cola Bottling Co. to create a Manufacturing Robotics Logistics Laboratory on campus.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2013-11-09 11:40:58","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:48","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"autonomic nervous system","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.areadevelopment.com\/EconomicsGovernmentPolicy\/Summer2012\/Advanced-Manufacturing-drives-USA-economic-engine-255422.shtml","dateline":{"date":"2012-06-22T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-06-22T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"14299","name":"Advanced Manufacturing Partnership"},{"id":"215","name":"manufacturing"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"136951":{"#nid":"136951","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Mexican Jumping Bean Robots Rock and Roll","body":"","field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2012-06-21 08:52:17","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:25:46","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Delta Jacket","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/bit.ly\/KyNQZj","dateline":{"date":"2012-06-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-06-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"252791":{"#nid":"252791","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Pentagon\u0027s Robot Sewing Machines Aim at China\u0027s Factories","body":"","field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2013-11-09 11:45:44","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:48","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Anglel Cabrera","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.technewsdaily.com\/5841-pentagon-robot-sewing-machines.html","dateline":{"date":"2012-06-07T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-06-07T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"131891":{"#nid":"131891","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Could We Trust Killer Robots?","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESince 2006, Ronald Arkin (\u003Cem\u003EComputer Science\u003C\/em\u003E) has been working to develop robot drones that are capable not only of carrying out pinpoint attacks but of deciding on their own when it is permissible to fire on a particular target. \u003Cem\u003ESource: Wall Street Journal\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27556","created_gmt":"2012-05-22 11:28:03","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:25:40","author":"Michaelanne Dye","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Anton Leykin","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/online.wsj.com\/article\/SB10001424052702303448404577410032825529656.html?mod=googlenews_wsj","dateline":{"date":"2012-05-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-05-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50875","name":"School of Computer Science"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3336","name":"army"},{"id":"34141","name":"Drones"},{"id":"525","name":"military"},{"id":"1356","name":"robot"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"14444","name":"ron arkin"},{"id":"11106","name":"Ronald Arkin"},{"id":"7263","name":"unmanned"},{"id":"545","name":"Weapons"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"128531":{"#nid":"128531","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Robot Reveals the Inner Workings of Brain Cells","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EGaining access to the inner workings of a neuron in the living brain offers a wealth of useful information: its patterns of electrical activity, its shape, even a profile of which genes are turned on at a given moment. However, achieving this entry is such a painstaking task that it is considered an art form; it is so difficult to learn that only a small number of labs in the world practice it.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut that could soon change: Researchers at MIT and the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a way to automate the process of finding and recording information from neurons in the living brain. The researchers have shown that a robotic arm guided by a cell-detecting computer algorithm can identify and record from neurons in the living mouse brain with better accuracy and speed than a human experimenter.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new automated process eliminates the need for months of training and provides long-sought information about living cells\u2019 activities. Using this technique, scientists could classify the thousands of different types of cells in the brain, map how they connect to each other, and figure out how diseased cells differ from normal cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project is a collaboration between the labs of Ed Boyden, associate professor of biological engineering and brain and cognitive sciences at MIT, and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/faculty\/forest.shtml\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ECraig Forest\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EGeorge W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur team has been interdisciplinary from the beginning, and this has enabled us to bring the principles of precision machine design to bear upon the study of the living brain,\u201d Forest says. His graduate student, Suhasa Kodandaramaiah, spent the past two years as a visiting student at MIT, and is the lead author of the study, which appears in the May 6 issue of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nmeth.1993\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENature Methods\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe method could be particularly useful in studying brain disorders such as schizophrenia, Parkinson\u2019s disease, autism and epilepsy, Boyden says. \u201cIn all these cases, a molecular description of a cell that is integrated with [its] electrical and circuit properties \u2026 has remained elusive,\u201d says Boyden, who is a member of MIT\u2019s Media Lab and McGovern Institute for Brain Research. \u201cIf we could really describe how diseases change molecules in specific cells within the living brain, it might enable better drug targets to be found.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAutomation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKodandaramaiah, Boyden and Forest set out to automate a 30-year-old technique known as whole-cell patch clamping, which involves bringing a tiny hollow glass pipette in contact with the cell membrane of a neuron, then opening up a small pore in the membrane to record the electrical activity within the cell. This skill usually takes a graduate student or postdoc several months to learn.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKodandaramaiah spent about four months learning the manual patch-clamp technique, giving him an appreciation for its difficulty. \u201cWhen I got reasonably good at it, I could sense that even though it is an art form, it can be reduced to a set of stereotyped tasks and decisions that could be executed by a robot,\u201d he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo that end, Kodandaramaiah and his colleagues built a robotic arm that lowers a glass pipette into the brain of an anesthetized mouse with micrometer accuracy. As it moves, the pipette monitors a property called electrical impedance \u2014 a measure of how difficult it is for electricity to flow out of the pipette. If there are no cells around, electricity flows and impedance is low. When the tip hits a cell, electricity can\u2019t flow as well and impedance goes up.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe pipette takes two-micrometer steps, measuring impedance 10 times per second. Once it detects a cell, it can stop instantly, preventing it from poking through the membrane. \u201cThis is something a robot can do that a human can\u2019t,\u201d Boyden says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOnce the pipette finds a cell, it applies suction to form a seal with the cell\u2019s membrane. Then, the electrode can break through the membrane to record the cell\u2019s internal electrical activity. The robotic system can detect cells with 90 percent accuracy, and establish a connection with the detected cells about 40 percent of the time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers also showed that their method can be used to determine the shape of the cell by injecting a dye; they are now working on extracting a cell\u2019s contents to read its genetic profile.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDevelopment of the new technology was funded primarily by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the MIT Media Lab.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENew era for robotics\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers recently created a startup company, Neuromatic Devices, to commercialize the device.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers are now working on scaling up the number of electrodes so they can record from multiple neurons at a time, potentially allowing them to determine how different parts of the brain are connected.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey are also working with collaborators to start classifying the thousands of types of neurons found in the brain. This \u201cparts list\u201d for the brain would identify neurons not only by their shape \u2014 which is the most common means of classification \u2014 but also by their electrical activity and genetic profile.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIf you really want to know what a neuron is, you can look at the shape, and you can look at how it fires. Then, if you pull out the genetic information, you can really know what\u2019s going on,\u201d Forest says. \u201cNow you know everything. That\u2019s the whole picture.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoyden says he believes this is just the beginning of using robotics in neuroscience to study living animals. A robot like this could potentially be used to infuse drugs at targeted points in the brain, or to deliver gene therapy vectors. He hopes it will also inspire neuroscientists to pursue other kinds of robotic automation \u2014 such as in optogenetics, the use of light to perturb targeted neural circuits and determine the causal role that neurons play in brain functions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENeuroscience is one of the few areas of biology in which robots have yet to make a big impact, Boyden says. \u201cThe genome project was done by humans and a giant set of robots that would do all the genome sequencing. In directed evolution or in synthetic biology, robots do a lot of the molecular biology,\u201d he says. \u201cIn other parts of biology, robots are essential.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther co-authors include MIT grad student Giovanni Talei Franzesi and MIT postdoc Brian Y. Chow.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E Georgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E 75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364) or Caroline McCall (cmccall5@mit.edu; 617-253-1682)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter: \u003C\/strong\u003EAnne Trafton, MIT News\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have automated the process of finding and recording information from neurons in the living brain. A robotic arm guided by a cell-detecting computer algorithm can identify and record from neurons in the living mouse brain with better accuracy and speed than a human experimenter.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Researchers have automated the process of finding and recording information from neurons in the living brain."}],"uid":"27206","created_gmt":"2012-05-06 18:15:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:09","author":"Abby Vogel Robinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-05-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-05-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"128501":{"id":"128501","type":"image","title":"Craig Forest robotic neural recordings","body":null,"created":"1449178622","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:37:02","changed":"1475894751","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:51","alt":"Craig Forest robotic neural 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Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"strategic intelligence","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.gpb.org\/news\/2012\/05\/03\/science-teachers-build-robots","dateline":{"date":"2012-05-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-05-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"42901","name":"Community"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"12814","name":"GT-Savannah"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"252861":{"#nid":"252861","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Daniel Goldman Receives 2012 DARPA Young Faculty 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The Institute was selected from a pool of more than 17,500 Boeing suppliers in more than 50 countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech was honored in the category of Academia, which recognizes outstanding performance as a strategic university. As one of Boeing\u0027s eight strategic universities, Georgia Tech provides increased knowledge and understanding of fluid flow, advanced manufacturing technology, design and aircraft technology through basic and applied research, which is based in Georgia Tech\u0027s Manufacturing Research Center (MaRC).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Boeing award recognizes multidisciplinary research by Georgia Tech Mechanical Engineering Professors Steve Danyluk and Ari Glezer, Industrial \u0026amp; Systems Engineering Professor Leon McGinnis, Aerospace Engineering Professor Dimitri Mavris and College of Computing Professor Henrik Christensen.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoeing supports various research activities at Georgia Tech related to manufacturing technologies, such as control and control systems on cranes, mobile platforms and robotics for moving parts in a factory environment and active flow control for wing tips, said Danyluk, professor and Morris M. Bryan Jr. Chair in Mechanical Engineering for Advanced Manufacturing Systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI am very pleased that Boeing has expressed their confidence and support in Georgia Tech by providing the resources to conduct research and development on manufacturing problems of critical significance to their business,\u201d said Danyluk, former director of MaRC. \u201cOur faculty are excited and energized by the Supplier of the Year Award, and we\u0027ll continue to excel in developing the tools and processes that will keep the U.S. in a lead position in manufacturing sciences.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOther professors and research engineers from across campus who help support Georgia Tech\u0027s work for Boeing include\u0026nbsp;Bert Bras, Jon Colton, Bill Singhose, Rick Cowan, Shreyes Melkote, Russell Peak, Chris Paredis, Tina Guldberg, Marc Goetschalckx, Joshua Vaughn, Frank Mess and Andrew Dugenske.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Boeing global supply chain is among the most geographically dispersed in manufacturing. The company annually purchases more than $50 billion in goods and services from approximately 28,000 suppliers that employ more than 1.2 million people around the world.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIn today\u2019s challenging business environment, an agile supply chain that continuously delivers excellent performance is critical,\u201d said Jack House, vice president of Supplier Management for Boeing Defense, Space and Security and the leader of Boeing\u2019s companywide Supplier Management program. \u201cThe supplier partners receiving 2011 Supplier of the Year Awards have demonstrated outstanding commitment to providing our customers with the best-value, highest-quality products and services, while meeting the customers\u2019 requirements and anticipating their needs for the future.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology was honored by Boeing on April 18 for its exceptional performance and contributions to the company\u2019s overall success during 2011.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech receives Boeing 2011 Supplier of the Year award for outstanding performance as a strategic university."}],"uid":"27462","created_gmt":"2012-04-19 12:56:34","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:04","author":"Liz Klipp","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-04-19T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-04-19T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"125811":{"id":"125811","type":"image","title":"Boeing 787","body":null,"created":"1449178604","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:36:44","changed":"1475894577","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:57","alt":"Boeing 787","file":{"fid":"194505","name":"boeing_plane.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/boeing_plane_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/boeing_plane_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1940563,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/boeing_plane_0.jpg?itok=7XtoCM6T"}},"125361":{"id":"125361","type":"image","title":"Boeing award","body":null,"created":"1449178604","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:36:44","changed":"1475894749","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:49","alt":"Boeing award","file":{"fid":"194498","name":"georgia_tech_soy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/georgia_tech_soy_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/georgia_tech_soy_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4663616,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/georgia_tech_soy_0.jpg?itok=MnI9dV94"}}},"media_ids":["125811","125361"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.boeing.com\/aboutus\/supplier_of_the_year\/soy2011_gallery.html","title":"Video - Georgia Tech named Boeing 2011 Supplier of the Year"},{"url":"http:\/\/boeing.mediaroom.com\/index.php?item=2227\u0026s=43","title":"Boeing Honors 16 Suppliers of the Year for Exceptional Performance"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.marc.gatech.edu\/","title":"Manufacturing Research Center (MARC)"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4358","name":"boeing"},{"id":"169486","name":"Steven Danyluk"},{"id":"171200","name":"Supplier of the Year award"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["klipp@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"123531":{"#nid":"123531","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Celebrates National Robotics Week","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology opened its doors to more than 400 middle school and high school students on Wednesday for the third annual Robotics Open House. Georgia Tech masters students and Ph.D. candidates demonstrated more than 20 projects around campus, marking the Institute\u2019s participation in National Robotics Week.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStudents saw a variety of projects, including an autonomous race car, robotic submarines and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.simontherobot.com\/\u0022\u003ESimon\u003C\/a\u003E (click \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=C9r1mJrWfLs\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E for a video of the day\u2019s events).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou can see the students\u2019 eyes light up when they\u2019re watching our demos. They get really excited because they often have little knowledge that such projects exist, and they are in many cases not aware of the potential impact of new technology,\u201d said Henrik Christensen, director of the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines. \u201cThat\u2019s important because some of them arrive and think engineering is not very exciting. Then they see some of our robots and go back to school to tell others. We hope today inspires them.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ENational Robotics Week was established by Congress in 2010. There are 150 events across all 50 states this year, the highest participation to date. National Robotics Week is intended to be a \u201cnational road-map\u201d for robotics technology.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology opened its doors to more than 400 middle school and high school students on Wednesday for the third annual Robotics Open House.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech welcomed 400 students for its annual Robotics Open House, part of National Robotics Week."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2012-04-11 17:45:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:00","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-04-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-04-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"123511":{"id":"123511","type":"image","title":"Simon","body":null,"created":"1449178582","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:36:22","changed":"1475894746","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:46","alt":"Simon","file":{"fid":"194437","name":"dscn0755.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn0755_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn0755_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2708005,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dscn0755_0.jpg?itok=tAIJh-Vp"}},"123521":{"id":"123521","type":"image","title":"Robotics Open House Golem Krang","body":null,"created":"1449178582","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:36:22","changed":"1475894746","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:46","alt":"Robotics Open House Golem Krang","file":{"fid":"194438","name":"dscn0769.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn0769_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/dscn0769_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2544517,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/dscn0769_0.jpg?itok=WWduaDX6"}}},"media_ids":["123511","123521"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/robotics.gatech.edu\/","title":"Center for Robotics \u0026 Intelligent Machines"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.nationalroboticsweek.org\/","title":"National Robotics Week"}],"groups":[{"id":"1220","name":"Digital Lounge"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"121741":{"#nid":"121741","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"How to Talk With Your Personal Robot","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMaya Cakmak (\u003Cem\u003EInteractive Computing\u003C\/em\u003E) is trying to help create an easy-to-use human-robot interaction. Along with other GT researchers, she has recently identified the types of questions a robot can ask to get more information from a human so that they can learn a new task. \u003Cem\u003ESource: Smart Planet\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27556","created_gmt":"2012-04-03 09:45:05","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:25:32","author":"Michaelanne Dye","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"workplace motivation","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.smartplanet.com\/blog\/thinking-tech\/how-to-talk-with-your-personal-robot\/11064","dateline":{"date":"2012-04-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-04-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and 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Marvi"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"252891":{"#nid":"252891","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"How Technology Helping the Elderly is Turning into a Big Business Opportunity","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch1 class=\u0022multi-line-title-1\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h1\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2013-11-09 13:19:16","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:26:48","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Jacqueline Rohde","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com\/2012-02-21\/news\/31083135_1_willow-garage-mechanics-products","dateline":{"date":"2012-02-21T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-02-21T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"134","name":"Student and Faculty"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"79401","name":"Charles Kemp"},{"id":"1129","name":"healthcare"},{"id":"10488","name":"PR2"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"107481":{"#nid":"107481","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"The Real Steel: Robotics Careers Ready to Boom","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe robotics industry is in a major growth mode but companies are having trouble finding high quality employees.\u0026nbsp; Henrik Christensen (\u003Cem\u003EInteractive Computing\u003C\/em\u003E) discusses what individuals need to break into the booming robotics field. \u003Cem\u003ESource: Today\u0027s Engineer\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27556","created_gmt":"2012-02-08 10:44:05","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:25:23","author":"Michaelanne Dye","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"1060","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.todaysengineer.org\/2012\/Feb\/career-focus.asp","dateline":{"date":"2012-02-09T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-02-09T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"50876","name":"School of Interactive Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"516","name":"engineering"},{"id":"11890","name":"henrik christensen"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"23371","name":"robotics careers"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"106701":{"#nid":"106701","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Why Kids Prefer Robots to Teachers and Parents","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhat would happen if robots were a part of your everyday life at school and beyond? Henrik Christen (\u003Cem\u003EInteractive Computing\u003C\/em\u003E) takes that projection a step further when he argues, \u201cIf we make conscious robots, they would want to have rights and they probably should.\u201d \u003Cem\u003ESource: Forbes\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27556","created_gmt":"2012-02-06 12:49:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:25:23","author":"Michaelanne Dye","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"Kausik Chakrabarti","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jamesmarshallcrotty\/2012\/02\/03\/kids-prefer-robots-to-teachers-and-parents\/","dateline":{"date":"2012-02-06T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-02-06T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"47223","name":"College of Computing"}],"categories":[{"id":"153","name":"Computer Science\/Information Technology and Security"},{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"13169","name":"autonomous robots"},{"id":"11890","name":"henrik christensen"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}},"79331":{"#nid":"79331","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Snakes Improve Search-and-Rescue Robots","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDesigning an all-terrain robot for search-and-rescue\nmissions is an arduous task for scientists. The machine must be flexible enough\nto move over uneven surfaces, yet not so big that it\u2019s restricted from tight\nspaces. It might also be required to climb slopes of varying inclines. Existing\nrobots can do many of these things, but the majority require large amounts of energy\nand are prone to overheating. Georgia Tech researchers have designed a new machine\nby studying the locomotion of a certain type of flexible, efficient animal. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBy using their scales to control frictional properties,\nsnakes are able to move large distances while exerting very little energy,\u201d\nsaid Hamid Marvi, a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. candidate at Georgia Tech. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile studying and videotaping the movements of 20 different\nspecies at Zoo Atlanta, Marvi developed Scalybot 2, a robot that replicates\nrectilinear locomotion of snakes. He unveiled the robot this month at the\nSociety for Integrative \u0026amp; Comparative Biology (SICB) annual meeting in\nCharleston, S.C. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cDuring \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TuyjtX0tdkU\u0022\u003Erectilinear\nlocomotion\u003C\/a\u003E, a snake doesn\u2019t have to bend its body laterally to move,\u201d\nexplained Marvi. \u201cSnakes lift their ventral scales and pull themselves forward\nby sending a muscular traveling wave from head to tail. Rectilinear locomotion is\nvery efficient and is especially useful for crawling within crevices, an\ninvaluable benefit for search-and-rescue robots.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EScalybot 2 can automatically change the angle of its scales when\nit encounters different terrains and slopes. This adjustment allows the robot\nto either fight or generate friction. The two-link robot is controlled by a\nremote-controlled joystick and can move forward and backward using four motors.\n\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cSnakes are highly maligned creatures,\u201d said Joe Mendelson, curator\nof herpetology at Zoo Atlanta. \u201cI really like that Hamid\u2019s research is showing\nthe public that snakes can help people.\u201d \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMarvi\u2019s advisor is David Hu, an assistant professor in the\nSchools of Mechanical Engineering and Biology. Hu and his research team are\nprimarily focused on animal locomotion. They\u2019ve studied how dogs and other\nanimals shake water off their bodies and how mosquitos fly through rainstorms. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis isn\u2019t the first time Hu\u2019s lab has looked at snake locomotion.\nLast summer the team developed Scalybot 1, a two-link climbing robot that replicates\nconcertina locomotion. The push-and-pull, accordion-style movement features\nalternating scale activity. \n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis project is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF)\n(Award No. \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Cem\u003EPHY-0848894\u003Cem\u003E). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal\ninvestigators and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New Robot is Designed to Use Less Energy"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDesigning an all-terrain robot for search-and-rescue\nmissions is an arduous task for scientists. The machine must be flexible enough\nto move over uneven surfaces, yet not so big that it\u2019s restricted from tight\nspaces. It might also be required to climb slopes of varying inclines. Existing\nrobots can do many of these things, but the majority require large amounts of energy\nand are prone to overheating. Georgia Tech researchers have designed a new machine\nby studying the locomotion of snakes. \u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Georgia Tech researchers have designed a new machine by studying the locomotion of a certain type of flexible, efficient animal: snakes."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2012-01-19 10:17:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:57","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-01-19T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-01-19T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"79321":{"id":"79321","type":"image","title":"Scalybot 2 Photo","body":null,"created":"1449178063","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:27:43","changed":"1475894693","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:44:53","alt":"Scalybot 2 Photo","file":{"fid":"193888","name":"screen_shot_2012-01-13_at_9.47.24_am_0.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/screen_shot_2012-01-13_at_9.47.24_am_0_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/screen_shot_2012-01-13_at_9.47.24_am_0_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":629275,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/screen_shot_2012-01-13_at_9.47.24_am_0_0.png?itok=5ajQ51cO"}}},"media_ids":["79321"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kIHlRLKMG9M","title":"Scalybot 2 Demonstration"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/","title":"George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.biology.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Biology"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.zooatlanta.org\/","title":"Zoo Atlanta website"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"277","name":"Biology"},{"id":"297","name":"David Hu"},{"id":"541","name":"Mechanical Engineering"},{"id":"667","name":"robotics"},{"id":"169002","name":"Snakes"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}