Recently, the National Science Foundation (NSF) www.nsf.gov in partnership with NIH, USDA, and NASA announced that $31.5 million was awarded to spur the development and use of co-robots which refers to robots that work cooperatively with people.
The awards mark the third round of funding made through the “National Robotics Initiative (NRI), www.nsf.gov/news/news_Summ.jsp?cntn_id=125390 a multi-agency program launched in 2012 as part of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership Initiative www.manufacturing.gov/amp.html with NSF as the lead federal agency.
Co-robots can work effectively and efficiently in disasters, care for the elderly in the home, plus handle a number of critical tasks in close proximity to humans safely and with greater resilience than previous generations of intelligent machines.
“Robots and robotic systems have the potential to augment human abilities, improve our quality of life and perform dangerous tasks unsuitable for people,” said Suzi Lacono, Acting Assistant Director of the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate at NSF www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=CISE.
The 52 new research awards, ranging from $300,000 to $1.8 million over one to four years, will advance the fundamental understanding of robotic sensing, motion, computer vision, machine learning, and human-computer interaction.
The awards include research to develop robots that are safer for human interaction, determine how humans can lead teams of robots in recovery situations, design robots that can check aging infrastructure, and map remote geographic areas.
Early in November, NRI announced the latest solicitation that is expected to award up to $50 million in 2015 with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency www.darpa.mil and the Department of Defense www.defense.gov as partners.
For more information, go to www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15505/nsf15505.htm.