Robotics

Humanity benefits from robotics in many ways, from military and safety applications to medical robotics such as pediatric devices and surgical telemanipulation. SRI researchers have pioneered the art and science of robotics technology for more than 40 years.

SRI's pioneering developments in robotics have evolved into a solid, comprehensive program that spans multiple disciplines and features expertise in artificial intelligence, algorithm development, sensors research, and product development.

Today, SRI is spearheading the robot revolution and introducing cutting-edge innovations, including:

Projects

ground vehicle with complex mapping sensor system
3D Complex Mapping in Urban Terrain

SRI is developing technology that will enable warfighters to easily maneuver a robot, precisely map an environment, and have 3D situational awareness.

Topics: 3D + Virtual Environments Computer Vision Force Protection Homeland Security + National Defense Intelligence, Surveillance + Reconnaissance Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
the ARM-H robotic hand
Autonomous Robotic Manipulation- Hand (ARM-H)

SRI and partners are developing highly dexterous low-cost robotic hands for military applications and other real-world uses.

Topics: Artificial Intelligence Force Protection Laboratory + Industrial Automation Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
green boxes highlighting people walking on street
Pedestrian Detection from Moving Unmanned Ground Vehicles

SRI’s vision-based systems enable safe operations of moving unmanned ground vehicles around stationary and moving people in urban or cluttered environments.

Topics: Computer Vision Counter-Terrorism Force Protection Homeland Security + National Defense Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
illustration of a security camera with watching eyes
Visual Intelligence Grounded in Learning (VIGIL)

SRI’s visual intelligence system could enable a new era in unmanned robotic surveillance.

Topics: Artificial Intelligence Computer Vision Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception

Products + Solutions

Warfighter with binoculars
Acadia® II Embedded Video Processors

Acadia® II is a real-time, low-power, integrated video processor that delivers enhanced perception and situational awareness. It supports embedded surveillance and portable processing needs for weapon-mounted sights, handheld range and target finders, unmanned air or ground platforms, and more.

Topics: Border Security Computer Vision Force Protection Homeland Security + National Defense Intelligence, Surveillance + Reconnaissance Maritime + Port Security Robotics Sensors Unmanned Robotics Perception
Acadia ILS-6100 OEM board
Acadia® ILS-6100™ OEM Video Stabilizer Board

The Acadia ILS-6100 video stabilizer is a printed circuit board designed for integration into camera enclosures, pan-tilt units, robots, and unmanned vehicles.

Topics: Border Security Computer Vision Force Protection Intelligence, Surveillance + Reconnaissance Maritime + Port Security Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
demonstration of artificial muscle
Electroactive Polymer “Artificial Muscle”

SRI has patented a thin, flexible, smart material dubbed “artificial muscle” because it behaves much like a human muscle. Artificial muscle, available for license from SRI for a variety of application areas, uses a breakthrough technology called electroactive polymers.

Topics: Actuation + Power Generation Advanced Manipulation + Automation Energy + Sustainability Force Protection Homeland Security + National Defense Mobile Device Applications Renewable Energy Robotics
electroadhesion demonstrated with a wall-climbing robot
Electroadhesion

SRI’s breakthrough electroadhesion technology, available for license, allows electrically controlled reversible adhesion
 to most surfaces.

Topics: Advanced Manipulation + Automation Force Protection Homeland Security + National Defense Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
electroadhesive surface-climbing robot
Electroadhesive Surface-Climbing Robots

SRI offers licenseable surface- and wall-climbing robot prototypes for surveillance, inspection, and sensor placement applications.

Topics: Advanced Manipulation + Automation Homeland Security + National Defense Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
Karto software
Karto™ Software for Robots on the Move

Decades of leading-edge SRI robotics and artificial intelligence research has produced Karto™—robust software for use in robotic navigation, mapping, and exploration.

Topics: Artificial Intelligence Robotics
man remotely guiding a surgical robot
M7 Surgical Robot

SRI’s telerobotic surgical system, M7, expands the reach of surgical intervention by enhancing the precision of minimally invasive procedures and enabling surgeons to operate from afar.

Topics: Robotics Space Technology Unmanned Robotics Perception
magnetic encoding equipment
Magnetic Encoding Technology

Until recently, there has not been a reliable, accurate, and inexpensive means to sense the motion and location of machine components such as hydraulic cylinders.

Topics: Laboratory + Industrial Automation Robotics Sensors
Taurus Dexterous Robot held by a researcher
Taurus Dexterous Robot

SRI is developing Taurus, a potentially life-saving telemanipulation tool for military and domestic bomb squads to defuse vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). Following field trials, Taurus enters commercial markets in 2012.

Topics: Force Protection Homeland Security + National Defense Laboratory + Industrial Automation Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception

Press Releases

Nine International Research Teams Collaborate to Successfully Operate Multiple Biomedical Robots from Numerous Locations

Using a new software protocol called the Interoperable Telesurgical Protocol, nine research teams from universities and research institutes around the world recently collaborated on the first successful demonstration of multiple biomedical robots.

Topics: Robotics
ROBOSOFT and SRI International Demonstrate Innovative Eldercare Service Robot at RoboBusiness 2009

At RoboBusiness 2009, ROBOSOFT and SRI International will demonstrate robuLAB10, a service robot designed to assist the elderly in their own homes, and for developers and integrators seeking to build home-centric service robots.

Topics: Robotics
SRI Demonstrates Ocean Wave-Powered Generator off California Coast

SRI will demonstrate and test a buoy-mounted, wave-powered generator in the ocean near Santa Cruz, Calif. The generator converts energy from ocean waves to electrical energy and uses SRI’s Electroactive Polymer Artificial Muscle (EPAM™).

Topics: Robotics
SRI International Announces Karto™, New Mapping Technology for Robot Developers

SRI International announces Karto™ robot mapping technology, an advanced mapping and localization software for developers using various robotic platforms and development environments. Developers can collect real or simulated data to create maps of new indoor environments for autonomous navigation.

Topics: Robotics
SRI International Announces Mapping and Localization Technology for Microsoft Robotics Studio

SRI International will deliver a version of its advanced mapping and localization software for Microsoft Robotics Studio, a new Windows®-based environment for academic, hobbyist and commercial developers to easily create robotic applications for a variety of computing platforms.

Topics: Robotics
SRI International Releases New Version of Karto™ Software for Mobile Robot Navigation

SRI International, an independent, nonprofit research and development institute, today announced the release of version 1.1 of SRI's Karto™ Software Development Kit (SDK).

Topics: Artificial Intelligence Robotics
SRI International Showcases Robots at Stanford Block Party during National Robotics Week

SRI International will exhibit dexterous telerobotics and demonstrate its wall-climbing robot during a Robot Block Party event at Stanford University’s Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab (VAIL) on Thursday, April 14, from 1 to 7 p.m.

Topics: Robotics
SRI International to Demonstrate Dexterous Telesurgical Robot at Block Party Event during National Robotics Week

SRI International, an independent nonprofit research and development institute, will demonstrate its M7 dexterous telesurgical robot at a Robot Block Party at Stanford University’s Paul Brest Hall from noon to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 14.

Topics: Robotics
SRI International to Host Xconomy Forum: The Future of Robotics in Silicon Valley and Beyond

SRI International, a leader in robotics innovations for more than 50 years, will host the Xconomy Forum: The Future of Robotics in Silicon Valley and Beyond, on Thursday, May 3 from 1 to 5 p.m. at SRI's headquarters in Menlo Park, followed by a networking reception.

Topics: Robotics
SRI International to Showcase Fun Science Demos at Bay Area Science Festival's Discovery Days Finale at AT&T Park

On Nov. 6 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., SRI will join other San Francisco Bay Area science organizations at Discovery Days at AT&T Park, a family-friendly celebration of science.

Topics: Robotics

SRI In the News

New Technologies Spread Arrival of Robots into Our Lives

This article about how robotics is an increasingly important part of our lives quotes Richard Mahoney, director of the Robotics Program at SRI International. Mahoney explains that "A robot is the interface between the information world and physical world."

Topics: Robotics
Can Silicon Valley Be the Center for Robotics Too?

This article reports that SRI's Rich Mahoney, director of the robotics program, thinks Silicon Valley can be the center for robotics research "and to make sure that people know it, he and his colleagues at SRI along with local robotics companies formed a group called Silicon Valley Robotics (SVR)."

Topics: Robotics
Can This Bomb-Defusing Robot Take Care of Grandma, Too?

This article reports that "the grabby little Taurus has the makings of a real renaissance robot." Developed by SRI, Taurus is the world's newest, smallest and possibly most capable remote-telepresence robot.

Topics: Robotics
DARPA Asks: Why Can't a Robot Be More Like a Man?

This article reports that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking for ideas on ways to develop highly autonomous robots that can perform dangerous and complicated tasks, from manning a vehicle checkpoint to firing a mortar with limited human control.

Topics: Robotics
DARPA Seeking to Revolutionize Robotic Manipulation

This article reports that the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) unveiled an ambitious program to advance robotic manipulation: the Autonomous Robotic Manipulation, or ARM, program, and SRI has been selected to develop both hardware and software for a robotic hand.

Topics: Robotics
DARPA Unveils New Robotics Program

This article reports on the goals of DARPA's four-year Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM) program. SRI International is participating in the hardware track of this program.

Topics: Robotics
Siri on an iPhone
From Siri to Robots: How SRI Views Ventures and Why Innovation Requires Serious Long-term Investments

SRI VP Norman Winarsky sat down with members of the media to share insights about what’s happening with the company, how it views investments, and much more.

Topics: Artificial Intelligence Robotics
Going the Distance: Surgical Robotics and Remote Medical Care in the Battlefield

This article, written by SRI International's Pablo Garcia, principal engineer and head of medical robotics, and Tom Low, director of medical systems and robotics, reports that providing medical care from afar using robotic technology could save more lives on the battlefield.

Topics: Robotics
Gulf Oil Disaster Showcases Need for Better Robotics

This article reports that "There is a need for better robotics in these deep sea waters" of the Gulf of Mexico, per BP's disastrous oil spill. Larry Langebrake, director of the SRI's Marine Technology Program, is quoted.

Topics: Energy + Sustainability Energy Efficiency Marine Science + Technology Maritime + Port Security Robotics
In Search of a Robot More Like Us

This article reports that as part of DARPA's Autonomous Robot Manipulation (ARM) program, SRI is developing robotic arms and hands that will mimic basic capabilities of motion & perception.

Topics: Robotics
SHAKEY: Experimentation in Robot Learning and Planning (1969)

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