Scientists & engineers on sofas (and other furnishings): Robots, soccer and the staying power of short circuit
Soccer aficionado and RoboCup champion DARwIn-OP and robotics expert Alex Leonessa recently sat down with Thi Le in the National Science Foundation (NSF) library to talk about robots of all kinds, and discuss how research in robotics could help do much more than just build better robots. DARwIn-OP, which stands for Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence–Open Platform, and Leonessa, NSF program director for General & Age-Related Disabilities Engineering, both participated in local National Robotics Week events, which are designed to celebrate and spread awareness of robotics technology. Created at Virginia Tech with NSF funding, DARwIn-OP is an 18-inch-tall humanoid robot designed to help roboticists experiment with new software and hardware approaches. The mini-robot frequently helps with educational and outreach activities. You may recognize DARwIn-OP from the RoboCup, a robotics competition intended to challenge roboticists to create humanoid robots capable of playing soccer, an activity that requires complex physical and computational abilities.
Provided by the National Science Foundation