CoC introduces new robotics center

The College of Engineering and the College of Computing have introduced the new Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (RIM@GT), a joint effort between the two colleges with support from the Georgia Tech Research Institute.

The center's purpose is to serve as the flagship entity to unify all of the various robotics programs on campus with a focus on advancing robotics research and education via interdisciplinary collaboration.

"Through a synthesis the efforts at Tech can have a significantly larger impact," said Henrik Christensen, a College of Computing professor and director of the new center.

"Earlier research has largely been topical and performed within the respective colleges and academic units. To be truly successful we need to build bridges to use the excellent competencies ...to synthesize knowledge in news ways to be creative and break new ground," Christensen said.

According to Christensen, though the center's official inception was on June 13, planning has been underway since March.

"We are slowly but securely providing the foundation for an effort that hopefully in a few years will be the premier robotics program in the U.S.," Christensen said.

According to Christensen, although the center has already secured research funds and has begun operating, it will take them close to a year to build up enough momentum to be visible.

"We have a three fold agenda. The first part is the promotion of research in robotics, especially personal robotics and systems that help people in their daily lives."

Christensen cited his design of a popular autonomous home vacuum cleaner as an example of a personal robot system.

"Other types could be a prosthetic for a handicapped person or an assistant to a nurse or doctor," Christensen said.

"In education we want to be truly interdisciplinary. Robotics involves mechanical design, control electronics and computers for programming and interfaces. In addition, we need an aesthetic design that integrates form and function. The next generation robotics designers must appreciate all of these factors, which implies that we need to have students that have a broad basis and coverage," Christensen said.

Finally, the center will have as a focus the practical application of its research.

"We want the research results to end up in real products, so we also need an entrepreneurial effort to spin out companies that can generate a new industry around Georgia Tech, that have a focus on new types of robotics," Christensen said.

According to Christensen, the establishment of the center will have several implications for both undergraduate and graduate students with an interest in robotics, including specialized robotics tracks for majors such as ME, ECE, and CS, although no new undergraduate major for robotics will be established. Students will also be able to choose from a wider offering of robotics courses, including an introductory robotics course similar to the recently established CS 1315 Introduction to Media Computing course.

Graduate students will also have increased opportunities for robotics studies. "We have applied for the setup of a new Ph. D. program," Christensen said, which should be launched by 2007.

One of the first projects the center will participate in is the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge, sponsored by the Department of Defense, where researchers from the center will compete in simulated military supply missions. Competitors will design autonomous vehicles to safely and effectively complete a 60-mile urban area course while navigating and negotiating through traffic and avoiding obstacles.