Robotics Projects

As part of VIA's leadership role in robotics we are working closely with academic and institutional projects that demonstrate the vision and capabilities in robotics and how robots deal with key issues such as navigation, mobility and design. Two such examples include:

SRI International Centibots Project
This is a joint project with Stanford, University of Washington, and ActiveMedia Robotics, to design, implement and demonstrate a computational framework for the coordination of very large robot teams, consisting of at least 100 small, resource limited robots, on indoor reconnaissance tasks including mapping, tracking and guarding. The Centibots project is primarily funded by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in an effort to develop new technologies for urban surveillance through distributed robotics. The "Amigobots" are equipped with VIA EPIA 5000 Mini-ITX mainboards.

Ventures such as the Centibots project will have a far reaching influence on the way potentially dangerous tasks are handled such as bomb disposal, intruder detection, hostage or military actions, hazardous waste exposure and disposal, and searching earthquake, fire or chemically damaged sites - essentially any perilous complex task that presently might risk human lives.

The Centibot project robots operate autonomously, can intercommunicate with each other or a central server, and if one fails its task another can pick up from where the job is left undone.

View the Centibots starring in this entertaining short film:
The VIA / SRI Centibots Project

The Centibots Project website:
www.ai.sri.com/centibots/

GeckoSystems
A leading developer of mobile robot solutions, GeckoSystems, Inc. (GSI) is specializing in supplying service robots that autonomously navigate, or patrol, the home, office, or workplace without human assistance. Their vision is to create practical, mobile robot solutions for personal, business, and government use.

GeckoSystems' CareBot™ pictured left is a fully mobile robot that can operate autonomously using self navigating GeckoBrain™ 2.0 software and can carry a payload of up to 100 lbs. In situations where voice control of CareBot™ or verbal reminders from would be beneficial GeckoChat™ application software offers even greater functionality. The GeckoSystems' CareBot™ uses two onboard VIA EPIA 5000 mainboards to run the software to provide the robot with digital intelligence. For more information about the CareBot click here.

Virginia Tech's Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Team (AUVT)
To further the engineers at Virginia Tech's practical experience in the field of robotics, AUVT was founded in January of 2001. The mission of AUVT is to provide a forum in which students can develop as engineers through the use of a design based competition, which requires a multidisciplinary approach. To that end, they are constructing and autonomous submarine that will compete in an underwater challenge course that requires self navigation and propulsion as well as target and object recognition.

The PC brains behind the AUVT submarine is a VIA EPIA Mini-ITX mainboard, providing the key processing power for the necessary visual recognition software programs while minimizing the battery drain with the VIA EPIA's low power VIA C3 processor.

AUVT has grown into a team of nearly 50 students of several backgrounds, including Aerospace, Ocean, Electrical, Computer, Mechanical, and Industrial Engineers, Computer Scientists, and Business and Marketing students all interacting to fully design and compete in a collegiate competition sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).

Justin Hayes is the team leader for AUVT. In an interview on VIA ARENA he gives excellent insight into the challenges faced of coordinating a project that requires cooperation between a variety of fields and how they came to chose VIA's EPIA Mini-ITX for their submarine.

Read the Justin Hayes interview here:
Interview at VIA Arena

For more information about team AUVT be sure to visit their website:
www.fbox.vt.edu/eng/aero/AUVT/index.html