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

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 and Industrial Automation Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
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 and Virtual Environments Computer Vision Force Protection Homeland Security and National Defense Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance 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
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 and National Defense Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception

Products + Solutions

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 and Reconnaissance Maritime and Port Security Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
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 and National Defense Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Maritime and Port Security Robotics Sensors 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 and Automation Homeland Security and National Defense Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
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 and Automation Force Protection Homeland Security and National Defense 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 and Power Generation Advanced Manipulation and Automation Energy and Sustainability Force Protection Homeland Security and National Defense Mobile Device Applications Renewable Energy 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
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
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 and National Defense Laboratory and Industrial Automation Robotics 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 and Industrial Automation Robotics Sensors

Press Releases

robot arm
The ‘Bots are Back at Xconomy’s Second Annual Robotics Forum at SRI International

Leading thinkers and innovators will gather at SRI headquarters in Menlo Park, California on April 11 to explore how robots are transforming the economy at Xconomy’s "Robots Remake the Workplace."

Topics: 3D and Virtual Environments Actuation and Power Generation Advanced Manipulation and Automation Artificial Intelligence Computer Vision Robotics Sensors
Taurus Dexterous Robot held by a researcher
Taurus Robot RSVPs to Robot Block Party at Stanford University

Taurus Robot RSVPs to Robot Block Party at Stanford University

Topics: Advanced Manipulation and Automation Force Protection Homeland Security and National Defense Laboratory and Industrial Automation Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
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 to Demonstrate Taurus Dexterous Robot at NDIA Ground Robotics Conference

SRI will demonstrate its Taurus robot, a high fidelity telemanipulation tool with a 3D HD display.

Topics: Advanced Manipulation and Automation Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
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 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 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
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 In the News

SRI-developed autonomous robotic hand
Making Robots Mimic the Human Hand

John Markoff reports on DARPA-funded initiatives, including one at SRI, to develop robots and prosthetic devices for wide use.

Topics: Artificial Intelligence Robotics
Rod Brooks, Chris Anderson, Aldo Zini to Star at SRI Robotics Event

This article reports that Xconomy's Robots Remake the Workplace conference will be at SRI International, home to the technology behind the Da Vinci surgical robot and many other robotics advances. According to the article, "Attendees will be welcomed by SRI president and CEO Curt Carlson."

Topics: Robotics
Debating Robots, Jobs, and the Changing Nature of Work on April 11 at SRI

Is the robotics business on the cusp of an unprecedented boom? Will robots soon be as ubiquitous in the workplace as personal computers are today?

Topics: Advanced Manipulation and Automation Artificial Intelligence Homeland Security and National Defense 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
Robots Credited For Helping Keep Jobs From Going Overseas

This news story focuses on how robotics is benefiting manufacturing and service industries while helping to keep jobs in the U.S. The story includes an interview with Rich Mahoney,director of SRI’s Robotics Program.

Topics: Advanced Manipulation and Automation Laboratory and Industrial Automation Robotics Unmanned Robotics Perception
Taurus robot being held by an SRI researcher
SRI's Latest Bot Disposes of Bombs

This video highlights SRI’s Taurus robot, a 15-pound robot that offers human-like dexterity from a remote distance.

Topics: Advanced Manipulation and Automation Force Protection Homeland Security and National Defense Laboratory and Industrial Automation Robotics
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
Where Won’t We Find Robots in the Future?

This article reports that SRI International, Willow Garage and Meka Robotics announced the joint venture Redwood Robotics at the Xconomy Forum ‘The Future of Robotics in Silicon Valley and Beyond’.

Topics: 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
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

Events

NDIA Logo
NDIA: 2013 Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference & Exhibition

NDIA: 2013 Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference & Exhibition

Topics: Robotics

Publications

R-MASTIF: Robotic Mobile Autonomous System for Threat Interrogation and Object Fetch

Autonomous robotic “fetch” operation, where a robot is shown a novel object and then asked to locate it in the field, re- trieve it and bring it back to the human operator, is a challenging problem that is of interest to the military.

Topics: Computer Vision Counter-Terrorism Robotics
Long-Range Pedestrian Detection Using Stereo and a Cascade of Convolutional Network Classifiers

In this paper, published in Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2012. We present a system for detecting pedestrians at long ranges using a combination of stereo-based detection, classification using deep learning, and a cascade of specialized classifiers.

Topics: Computer Vision Counter-Terrorism GPS Tracking and Precision Navigation Research and Development Programs Robotics Sensors Signal Processing
Real-Time Low-Power Image Enhancement of Low SNR Imagery with Moving Objects

In this paper, published in SPIE. SRI’s new NV-CMOS image sensor technology is designed to capture images over the full range of illumination from bright sunlight to overcast starlight.

Topics: Computer Vision Cyber Security Homeland Security and National Defense Imaging Technologies Low-Light CMOS Imaging Robotics Sensors
Multi-Resolution Real-Time Dense Stereo Vision Processing in FPGA

High-performance dense stereo is a critical component of computer vision applications like 3D reconstruction, robot navigation, and augmented reality. In this paper, we present a low-power, high performance FPGA implementation of a stereo algorithm suitable for embedded real-time platforms.

Topics: Computer Vision Remote Sensing Research and Development Programs Robotics Signal Processing
A Graph Traversal Based Algorithm for Obstacle Detection Using Lidar or Stereo

In this paper, published in IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. We present a novel computationally efficient approach to obstacle detection that is applicable to both structured (e.g. indoor, road) and unstructured (e.g. off-road, grassy terrain) environments.

Topics: Computational Materials and Devices Computer Vision Remote Sensing Robotics Signal Processing
A LIDAR Streaming Architecture for Mobile Robotics with Application to 3D Structure Characterization

In this paper, published in IEEE. International Conference on Robotics and Automation. We present a novel LIDAR streaming architecture for real-time, on-board processing using unmanned robots.

Topics: 3D and Virtual Environments Computer Vision Imaging Technologies Robotics Sensors Signal Processing
Robust Visual Path Following for Heterogeneous Mobile Platforms

In this paper, published in IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). We present an innovative path following system based upon multi-camera visual odometry and visual landmark matching.

Topics: 3D and Virtual Environments Computer Vision Counter-Terrorism GPS Tracking and Precision Navigation Imaging Technologies Remote Sensing Robotics Signal Processing
Lidar-Based Door and Stair Detection from a Mobile Robot

In this paper, published in SPIE, Unmanned Systems Technology XII. We present an on-the-move LIDAR-based object detection system for autonomous and semi-autonomous unmanned vehicle systems.

Topics: 3D and Virtual Environments Computational Materials and Devices Computer Vision Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Remote Sensing Robotics Sensors Signal Processing
SHAKEY: Experimentation in Robot Learning and Planning (1969)

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