These are examples of some of the larger Research & Development laboratories and/or organizations that are engaged in designing and applying robotic technologies to challenges faced by various governmental agencies in the United States and the world today. It is not meant to serve as a comprehensive listing of state-of-the-art robotics in the government arena, rather, it provides a solid introduction to the ways in which robotics are employed in national and international initiatives. Most of the research conducted by federal organizations is concentrated in the space and defense industries, as well as in applications which improve the environment.
® The Intelligent Systems and Robotics Center at Sandia National Labs
Sandia Labs is one of the nation's leading R&D facilities, and conducts research primarily for the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense. Their primary interest is the development of telerobotic systems&emdash;systems which assist human operators and vice versa&emdash;and in building robots which can improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of manufacturing and industrial processes. They are investigating ways in which robots can aid humans in the clean up of environmentally contaminated sites and in hazardous materials handling. Their "Featured Projects" page contains excellent links to their current projects, which are displayed as "fact sheets" with information about the project and graphics of their robot creations, such as:
® Robotics and Process Systems Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Lab is another well-known facility engaged in the application of robotic technologies for hazardous waste management, surveillance of radioactive waste sites, remote handling and repairs of radioactive equipment in nuclear operations, and environmental restoration. Oak Ridge is also involved in R&D for national defense programs, such as their "Future Armor Rearm System" which automatically reloads battlefield vehicles with ammunition, eliminating manual rearming of tanks. Unfortunately, the site does not provide much information on each project besides the brief description on the ORNL homepage. If you are curious about research in human-robot interaction, a worthwhile link to an interesting paper on human factors in telerobots, one of the main research initiatives at Oak Ridge, is also found on the site.
® Robotics at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San Diego
This is an excellent and thorough site. SSC has been involved in robotics research since the early 60's, and is currently comprised of two major divisions: Advanced Systems (Land and Air Robots) and Ocean Systems (Underwater Robots). Their primary research interests are in the development of autonomous land robots, unmanned ground, air, and sea vehicles, neural modeling for robots, and mobile robotic security systems (automated intrusion detection of Department of Defense storage sites, waterfront security systems, and small guerilla robots that support groups of warfighters in urban combat operations). The site contains a photo gallery and bios of both retired and happily functioning robots, with excellent graphics and movies of robots in action (such as Robart II against six Coke cans, a Western).
® NASA Space Telerobotics Program
® Jet Propulsion Laboratory Robotics
® Intelligent Mechanisms Group
NASA is one of the leading innovators in the design space-based robotic technology, and aims to develop complete robotic systems which address the specific manipulation and mobility aspects of mission needs. Major research areas include:
planetary surface rovers (Mars and Lunar)
remote telerobotics
science payload robots (robots used inside astronaut-occupied environments)
On-orbit assembly and servicing of satellites (free-flying and attached robots)
terrestrial applications (robot-assisted microsurgery, satellite test assistants)
component technology (joint designs, muscle wire, exoskeleton systems, sensor technology)
NASA's robots are well-known to most people. This site provides links to some of the more popular projects, such as Sojourner, the first Mars Rover, and Dante II, the brave volcano explorer robot, with excellent graphics to boot.
Other important NASA divisions are:
The JPL is dedicated to researching planetary surface and solar system exploration, Earth observations from space, and the extension of human capabilities in space. Some of their projects include long range rovers, robotic vehicles, synthetic vision, muscle actuators, dextrous arm control, and the development of robots to perform in-situ science on comets and asteroids. The site provides useful links to several of their interesting projects, such as "Pioneer," for the inspection of Chernobyl.
® A division of the JPL, the Rover and Telerobotic Technology Program is primarily concerned with planetary exploration. This site provides a good overview to some of their research for NASA and for non-NASA sponsors (like the U.S. Army&emdash;micro-robots for urban terrain operations). The site provides detailed descriptions of each project.
® A third division of NASA, the Intelligent Mechanisms Group, is also interested in the exploration of planetary surfaces, and aims to develop fault tolerant movement of robot devices and efficient control of remote systems. IMG played a significant role in the Mars Pathfinder Mission, and is also active in the development of virtual reality interfaces to improve visualization of remote worksites.
INEL provides development of autonomous robot technologies in support of the Department of Energy site remediation efforts. Research is focused on employing the use of robots in the following tasks, which would ordinarily present a health hazard to humans:
Automated contaminate analysis
Land fill remediation
Mixed waste operations
Underground storage tanks
Decontamination
Robot telepresence in nuclear environments
INEL's site provides links to research papers and abstracts on each of the above topics.
® Los Alamos National Laboratory "BEAM Robot Games"
"Robogenetics meets robobiologics."
Basically a nice ad for a series of games or events that are held annually for robot enthusiasts to present their designs to each other, the press, and the public. Robots of similar ability and structure are pitted against each other in events such as "Robot Sumo" or "Robot Limbo Race," and are judged on novelty of design, quality of hardware, sophistication of behavior, and efficiency. Worth checking out for a laugh.
