Armed with Science | Tag Archive

These Robot Legs Were Made For Walkin’

Filed under Robots, Videos by jtozer on June 26, 2012 at 7:40 am {no comments}

"They call me...PETMAN." (No really, they call him Petman)

Remember the $2 million-dollar robot contest I was telling you about a couple of months ago?

Well check out these babies.

This video shows versions of DARPA and Boston Dynamics robots climbing stairs, walking on a treadmill and doing pushups.

A modified platform resembling these robots is expected to be used as government-funded equipment (GFE) for performers in Tracks B and C of the DARPA Robotics Challenge. The GFE Platform is expected to have two arms, two legs, a torso and a head, and will be physically capable of performing all of the tasks required for the disaster response scenarios scheduled in the Challenge.

However, despite the appearance of the robots in the video, the Challenge is decidedly not exclusive to humanoid robot solutions.

Any designs are welcome provided they are compatible with shared human-robot environments, compatible with human tools, and compatible with human operators so that a human without expertise in robotics can give commands and confidently anticipate the response.
(more…)

ONR Awarding Top Dollar To Top Students

Filed under Challenge, Featured by jtozer on May 13, 2012 at 7:22 am {no comments}

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is awarding more than $160,000 in scholarships to a group of young scientists and engineers competing at Intel ISEF 2012, May 13-18 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) competition draws more than 1,500 students in grades 9 to 12 to showcase their independent research projects and vie for scholarships contributed by government, industry and academia.

“ONR is actively investing in the future by providing scholarships to these students, who represent some of the best and brightest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” said Dr. Anthony Junior, director, Department of the Navy Historically Black Colleges and Universities/Minority Institutions Program office. “They’re exactly the type of sharp, high achievers that we’ll need to solve problems for the Navy, Marine Corps and the nation.”

ONR’s prize money provides $8,000 Tuition Scholarship Awards to 17 top finishers, plus three awards in the amount of $4,000 each to participants with original research in critical, naval-relevant scientific areas, such as electrical engineering, environmental engineering and microbiology.

ONR also will present four $4,000 Tuition Scholarship Awards to three individuals and one two-member team to attend the London International Youth Science Forum in August. All recipients also receive a certificate signed by Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder and a miniature Lone Sailor statue.

ONR staff will be at Booth No. 402 to provide information about the organization’s many educational outreach programs.

Information for this article provided by the Office of Naval Research

———-

Disclaimer: The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense of this website or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized activities such as military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sites, the Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD website.

Wanted: Robot. Willing To Pay $2M

Filed under Challenge, Robots by jtozer on April 16, 2012 at 7:40 am {2 comments}

Written by Jessica L. Tozer

Hey you, robot enthusiast!

Do you want two million dollars? Can you build amazing robots? If so, have we got the most awesome contest FOR YOU! No, seriously. This isn’t the premise for a 1980′s SciFi action flick. This is for real, folks.

Hey, haven't I seen you in a video game somewhere? (Artist's concept image courtesy of DARPA)

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is offering millions to the person who creates a robot designed to handle disasters of epic proportion. The kind humans can’t handle, no matter how noble or determined we are. No, not the asteriod-hurling-to-Earth type (although truthfully that would currently fall into the things-we-can’t-handle-no-seriously-Bruce-Willis-isn’t-going-to-save-us category).

All epic movie montages aside, DARPA really is looking for robots that can handle things that are too dangerous for humans, like the meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant last year.

This is more than just the work of a machine. This robot has to go above and beyond the call of autonomous duty in order to handle the kind of crisis we’re talking about. As awesome as that sounds, it’s not quite as unprecedented as you might think.

The truth is, the use of robots in serious situations is nothing new.

(more…)

Beyond Waste

Filed under Challenge, Earth Sciences, Energy, STEM by jtozer on April 11, 2012 at 7:57 am {no comments}

From www.launch.org

The goal of the LAUNCH: Beyond Waste Challenge is to identify ten “game changing” innovations that have the potential to transform the current waste management systems and practices to ones focused on minimizing waste and/or transforming waste into new products.

LAUNCH invites proposals for innovative design for zero waste solutions, waste elimination, waste transformation, and waste mitigation technologies, as well as waste reduction-focused education, business, and financial strategies that have the potential to reduce and/or eliminate waste at a household, community, office building, campus, or industrial level.

The Waste Hierarchy establishes a ranking of management options in context of increasing environmental impact, and is based on the simple premise that it is better to avoid generating waste than to treat or dispose of waste.

The ultimate goal of LAUNCH is a sustainable future for planet Earth and its inhabitants. The LAUNCH: Beyond Waste Challenge seeks to identify entrepreneurial efforts focused on the development of innovative products, services, and programs that can benefit from collaborating and networking with influential government and business leaders to accelerate their deployment and adoption in both the developed and developing worlds.

(more…)

DARPA Asks “Can You Design, Build, and Fly the Next-Generation UAV?” [VIDEO]

Filed under Challenge, STEM, Technology, Videos by Carla Voorhees on May 25, 2011 at 4:38 pm {no comments}

Win $100,000 by designing the next generation UAV

Small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) play a critical role in modern military operations. The next generation of these aerial robotic systems needs to have enhanced takeoff and landing capabilities, better endurance, require less support equipment and be adaptable to mission needs in varying conditions.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Atlantic (SSC Atlantic) call on innovators of every kind; scientists, engineers, citizen scientists and dreamers to collaborate on the UAVForge Challenge and win $100,000 USD. The UAVForge challenge uses crowdsourcing to build small UAVs through an exchange of ideas and design practices. The goal is to build and test a user-intuitive, backpack-portable UAV that can quietly fly in and out of critical environments to conduct sustained surveillance for up to three hours.

(more…)

DARPA Announces Experimental Crowd-derived Combat-support Vehicle (XC2V) Design Challenge

Filed under Challenge, Education & Culture, Physical Sciences, Technology by John Ohab on February 4, 2011 at 2:51 pm {no comments}

Win up to $10,000, Support the Warfighter

Today’s warfighters are called upon to operate at peak efficiency in virtually every terrain and under myriad harsh environmental conditions. Would their ability to face rapidly changing mission demands improve by introducing a dynamic method of manafucturing military vehicles that streamlines the design/build process, introduces the latest in innovation, and keeps pace with the needs of the warfighter?

From concept to construction current military vehicle manufacturing processes take several years. By leveraging the power of the crowd, we can contribute to reducing that timeline significantly. Additionally, this opens the aperature to introduce greater ideas and design compilation with a reduction in time and the potential for a better performing vehicle. This more efficient process could save lives and improve mission success.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) seeks to engage the crowd for its latest challenge. The Experimental Crowd-derived Combat-support Vehicle (XC2V) Design Challenge, facilitated by Local Motors, Inc. asks individuals to conceptualize a vehicle body design for two different missions—Combat Reconnaissance and Combat Delivery & Evacuation.

This is an opportunity for servicemembers, race and auto enthusiasts, and those with an interest and talent in engineering, materials, industrial design, etc., to support the warfigther by contributing to the future of military vehicle manufacturing, win up to $10,000, and see their design become a reality in the form of a fully functioning concept vehicle.

(more…)

Announcing the Federal Voting Assistance Program Slogan and Poster Contests!

Filed under Challenge, Education & Culture by John Ohab on January 21, 2011 at 11:56 am {no comments}

To enter, create an image or slogan that expresses the importance of voting and will inspire others to vote. (Image: FVAP) Looking for a way to tap into the creative side your scientific mind?

For the first time ever, the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) is opening its biennial voting poster and slogan contests to all U.S. citizens worldwide using Challenge.gov to facilitate the process.

The FVAP Slogan Contest asks for slogan ideas that inspire members of the military, their families and U.S. Citizens residing overseas to start or continue to participate in elections while away from home.

The FVAP Poster Contest seeks artwork illustrating what is means to be an American voter anywhere in the world.

The winner for each contest and a guest will receive a trip to our nation’s capital to participate in special events and tours. Runners-up will not only feel the satisfaction of knowing that their slogan or artwork is helping to improve voter awareness and participation, but will also receive a certificate of recognition from the Department for their contribution to this important endeavor.

There is no limit to the number of entries an individual may submit for either contest. All entries must be received by April 8, 2011.

(more…)

National Defense University Press Launches Online Scavenger Hunt

Filed under Challenge, Education & Culture by Armed with Science on December 14, 2010 at 11:21 am {one comment}

Joey Seich is the Internet Publications Editor at the National Defense University Press (NDU Press), located in Washington, DC. NDU Press leads the National Defense University Enterprise in publishing and disseminating vital and complex defense and national security scholarship in a variety of media to inform and influence defense and policy decisionmakers, as well as the joint professional military education community and interested public.

“I want to do a holiday scavenger hunt,” I stated matter-of-factly to my boss over coffee. It was 8 A.M. Monday morning in October. My boss laughed; I didn’t.

He quickly realized I was serious and I went on to explain, “I want to do a holiday scavenger hunt on our Web site. I want to hide holiday graphics across the site. A company did it at a conference I went to and it increased their web traffic by over 600%. I want to try it.”

“You do realize we work for the Department of Defense?” he questioned. I nodded. He shook his head knowing I wouldn’t drop the idea, “Put together a proposal, we’ll take it to the Director.” I quickly agreed.

Fast forward two months and the proposal had somehow made it through the Director, Legal, and the Front Office. I was still in shock when the paperwork landed on my desk: APPROVED.

Now December, NDU Press is launching a Holiday Scavenger Hunt.

The scavenger hunt occurs in two phases. The first phase kicks off Tuesday, December 14 at 12 p.m. from our NDU Press Facebook page. This part of the contest is modeled after the Social Media Scavenger Hunt that the National Archives hosted back in April. On each site, there will be a KEYWORD and a clue leading the user to the next site in the hunt. The first 10 people to send all the keywords in the right order to a provided e-mail address will win a prize. This part of the contest will conclude at 12 p.m. on Thursday, December 16.

The second part of the contest will take place over 10 days. During this part of the Scavenger Hunt, virtual “easter eggs” will be hidden throughout the NDU Press Web site. Some easter eggs will only be viewable from specific browsers, adding to the challenge. Other easter eggs will highlight experimental CSS techniques pioneered by developers such as Andy Clarke and Eric Meyer. Those participants that find an easter egg will win a prize.

(more…)