ByHaldun
ASTM E54.08 Homeland Security, Robotics Meeting is completed!
The biannual ASTM E54.08 Homeland Security, Operational Equipment, Robotics meeting was held at the NIST campus in Gaithersburg from May 28-30, 2014. The event brought together a rich collection of individuals from first responder community, robot vendors and standards administrators.
Robolit made two presentations at the event. Our team introduced a new robot design representation procedure to be adopted by the cache packaging standard. Robolit is tasked with the development of an extensible relational database and access interface for the standard test data. We demonstrated the very initial prototype on an online access interface and a database engine implementation.
ByHaldun
US Science and Technology Festival is completed.
As part of the NIST team Robolit participated the US Science and Technology Festival held in Washington, DC from April 26-28. This wonderful event aims to improve the science, engineering and technology education (STEM) in K-12 system. There was a huge attendance including defense contractors, government institutions, universities, high school, small businesses, and more. Various key technologies that will pave the way towards a more flexible educational infrastructure were represented. The most noteworthy presentations were by the 3D printer companies.
With the NIST team we dabuted the mini-arena (a.k.a. confined space tests)—a small scale version of standard test methods developed in the ASTM E54.08 Subcommittee. This setup combined with our group’s recent work on 3D printable robot kit we believe the mini-arena will establish an exciting new experimentation and learning environment for young roboticists with direct association with the RoboCup Rescue League and the NIST Standard Test Methods work.
ByHaldun
Koblenz Robot Test Facility is updated
Following RoboCup German Open, Robolit and NIST updated the robot testing facility in Koblenz Germany with the latest version of a “training set” designed to help robot operators score and practice against themselves to improve performance. While we recorded the scores of an expert operator to compare against operators in training.
ByHaldun
RoboCup Rescue League German Open has started
The German Open for RoboCup was held in Magdeburg Germany from April 1st to April 6th of 2014. The event was designed to allow college and high school level robotics teams to practice as well as earn their place at the RoboCup finals held later in 2014. The event consists of various leagues spanning simulation soccer competitions to legged full size robot games.
Our focus is on the Rescue League which aims to foster innovation in search and rescue robotics. Robolit along side of NIST participated in the design, set-up, and administration for the RoboCup German Open Rescue League. Tasked primarily with judging during the students runs.
ByHaldun
DARPA DRC event is successfully completed!
DARPA Robotics Challange Trials are held in Homestead Speedway in Florida from December 16-22, 2013. Robolit served in the operations groups as part of the NIST team that was tasked with the design and construction of the test stages for the event. Following a grueling three day setup all eight test stages and the expo area NIST test site are constructed. The competition was a great success where several teams demonstrated quite exceptional performance. More information, pictures and movies can be found at the Robolit Facebook page.
ByHaldun
Robolit is preparing to head over to DRC Tests in Florida
As part of our project with the National Institutes of Standard and Technology on Standard Test Methods for Robotic Systems, Robolit will be taking part in the DARPA Robotics Challange (DRC) tests. We will be overseeing the tests and provide evaluation support for the NIST team responsible of the challenge setup.
Seventeen teams from around the world will be participating in the DARPA Robotics Challange (DRC) Trials at Florida’s Homestead Miami Speedway, December 20-21, 2013. The Trials will provide a baseline on the current state of robotics and determine which teams will continue on to the DRC Finals in 2014 with continued DARPA funding. Competing in the 2014 Finals will lead to one team winning a $2 million prize.
ByHaldun
Participation in Eurathlon 2013
Robolit joined NIST personnel at the euRathlon 2013 competition in Berchtesgaden, Germany. A continuation of the European Land Robotics Trials (ELROB), euRathlon is working with our collaborators at the German military to bring standardized test methods to their competition. This event heralds a new era in closer collaboration between the DHS-NIST-ASTM International Standard Test Methods for Response Robots project and the European robotics community.
ByHaldun
DARPA Robotics Challange site visit
Robolit is working with NIST to develop the challenges for the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC). As part of this, a Robolit research scientist joined NIST and DARPA officials over August 6-8, 2013 in a site visit to the Homestead Speedway in Florida, the site of the upcoming DRC Trials this December. This visit will help the team further refine the challenges ahead of the competition.
ByHaldun
NIST test visit is conducted
Robolit supported NIST efforts in its recent testing of a new response robot for the New York Fire Department and helped to bring together a group of responders from around the US to observe and participate in the event. Apart from yielding data as part of acceptance testing, this test also marked the first time that the DHS-NIST-ASTM International Standard Test Methods for Response Robots had been used for procurement of a robot for a US fire department.
ByHaldun
RoboCup WorldCup 2013 is held in Eindhoven, NL
Robolit continues to play a crucial role in the RoboCupRescue Robot League, in support of the wider DHS-NIST-ASTM International Standard Test Methods for Response Robotsproject, with a Robolit research scientist traveling to RoboCup World Cup 2013 in Eindhoven as one of the members of the Organizing Committee to direct and supervise arena construction, gather data, and referee the competition. This event is an important outreach component of the overall project, providing exposure to leading research institutes from around the world in this crucial area.