[IP] PLEASE NOTE CORRECTION IN DATE -- Red Whittaker to talk at Carnegie Mellon West in Silicon Valley
Thursday, 8/19
18:30 drinks/food/networking
19:00 lecture
Grand Challenge : Racing for the Future
Dr. William "Red" Whittaker
Red Team Leader
Director of the Field Robotics Center
Carnegie Mellon University
The Grand Challenge is a robotic race across 250 miles of unrehearsed
desert in less than 10 hours for a $2 million dollar prize. Last year,
the
Red Team's Sandstorm robot with support from companies such as Intel,
Boeing, SAIC and many others, traveled the furthest and fastest, while
maintaining a race pace averaging 15 mph. Prior to racing, Sandstorm
logged
over 1000 miles of autonomous driving, including a 57-mile continuous
run.
The Grand Challenge surpasses previous endeavors. Never before have
autonomous vehicles been challenged to move at such speeds, across
unknown
difficult terrain, and in proximity to other racing vehicles. The
scientific and technical challenges are immense but the potential
benefits
are far greater. This race is bringing robotics to the fore of public
attention, galvanizing new visions for the role of robotics in the world
and igniting the growth of a nascent industry. Breakthroughs compelled
by
the race will forever alter the view of what is possible.
This talk will chronicle the technical and human challenges driving the
Red
Team's pursuit of the Grand Challenge. We race to catalyze technology,
build new relationships, change the view of what's possible, and create
new
robotic applications in the world. The technical difficulties are
enormous,
but not beyond grasp.
Dr. William "Red" Whittaker leads the Red Team. He is the Fredkin
Research
Professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute
and the founder and director of the Field Robotics Center and the
National
Robotics Engineering Consortium. He has been named Pittsburgh's Man of
the
Year in Technology and honored as one of Science Digest's Top 100 US
Innovators. His robotics endeavors have won numerous awards including:
the
Engelberger Technology Award and the Laurels Award for outstanding
achievement from Aviation Week and Space Technology. He is the chief
scientist of Redzone Robotics, a company that pioneers the development
of
mobile robots for hazardous work environments. He holds 16 patents, has
advised 26 Ph.D. students, and is the author/co-author of over 200
publications. www.redteamracing.org
Location: Carnegie Mellon campus at Moffett Field in Mountain View
(off US 101). Directions:
http://west.cmu.edu/about/directions/index.htm.
Every driver will need to show driver's license at the gate.
-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To manage your subscription, go to
http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip
Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/