Microrobotics Competition Shows Impressive Feats
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Computer Engineering Computer Science Electrical Engineering Engineering Mechanics Industrial Engineering Manufacturing Engineering Mechanical Engineering Mechatronics |
| Special Topic(s): |
Student Competitions |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Teaching - Demonstration |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Christopher Mims |
| Description: | Technology Review article with video clips of competitive microrobots. Excerpt: "The world's elite microrobots break the world record in the two-millimeter dash and self-assemble like Voltron. At The Mobile Microrobotics Challenge, which took place mid-May in Anchorage, Alaska and was sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the world's best robotics engineers gathered to attempt some of the most impressive feats of micro-manipulation. "When people come to our competition, they're demonstrating something that's publishable within a few months," says Jason Gorman, organizer of the competition and an engineer in the Intelligent Systems Division of NIST. "We're interested in pushing the limits of microrobots." This year's lineup included three separate events: the two millimeter dash, a micro-manipulation task in which robots had to push tiny pegs into equally tiny holes, and a "freestyle" event in which the teams were allowed to show off the unique capabilities of their microrobots. The competition was so tiny it was filmed through a microscope. Below are videos of the winners of each event." Image caption: In a series of video clips, competition robots and pallet-stacking simulations show their moves. |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | microrobotics NIST IEE ICRA |
| References: |
Robots Big and Small Showcase Their Skills at NIST Alaskan Events |
| Usage Tip | |
| Related ABET Criteria: |
(c) Design a system, component, or process |
| Use of Resource: |
The competition could be used in project-based courses. The videos are great examples to show in mechatronics or MEMS lectures or labs. |
| Difficulty: |
Medium |
| Interactivity Level: |
Low |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | June 2010 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/guest/25259/ |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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