| Related sites for http://www.robofesta-europe.org/britain/ |
| Thinking_Materials The consultancy firm for development of wearable platforms offers some info and news about itself. | | Wearable_Computer_Resource Thoroughly commented link collection on wearable computers, software, hardware, research, commercial, communication as well as clothes. | | Wearable_Computing_-_eyetap_org Steve Mann presents link collections on technology, complete systems and people as well as short articles on e.g. applications and definitions, plus news and a FAQ. | | Wearable_Computing_Resource_Page A variety of sources and links for wearable computing. | | Wearables_Central Information and tools about building wearable computers. | | Wearables_Links Annotated link collection containing topics like wrist computers, direct brain connection and "almost wearable". | | Wearforge Wiki on hard- and software. Contains views on a minimal system and extensive overviews on complete systems and individual components. | | Cosec_Corporation Offers intranets with address book, calendar, BBS, file sharing, project tracking, time and expense reporting, reservation and scheduling for groups. | | Digger_Solutions Open source ASP intranet solutions. | | Distinct_Corporation Offers Network Monitor, the only protocol analyzer software; RPC Toolkit for Windows, Java and .Net programming; terminal emulators for TN3270, TN5250 and VT420. | | Enlighten_Net Pre-packaged standards based intranet-in-a-box. Free online demo available. | | HyperOffice Hosted Intranet service with email, business tools and utilities. Free 30-day trial. | | InstaIntranet Intranet building software - includes product overview and downloadable evaluation copy. | | Interchange_Group_Limited Specialising in Customer Service, and Intranet solutions including OpenText / LiveLink systems. | | Intranet_Applets This site has several handy utilities for the intranet such as orgchart, ganttchart, floorplan searcher, and sitemap. | | Intranet_Connections Self Managing intranet software with 21 built in application | | Intranet_File_Sharing Utility to search local area network for all kinds of files. Find any file in the network in a few seconds. Also provides Intranet file sharing features. | | Intranets_Com Web-based intranet service, with a member directory, group calendar, document library, and announcements. Free 30-day trial. | | Intraware,_Inc_ Offers one place to research, evaluate, procure, install, and upgrade intranet software products. | | Komdat_GmbH Providers for the Totaldata data management server, Totalintra workflow and content management tools, and Totalinfo lead generation service. | | LWiNet Web hosted Intranet/Extranet and Email services for private schools and small businesses. | | Mindbridge Specializes in building enterprise-level web applications. Has selection of free white papers on the web site. | | Nakisa_Corporate_Directory_Services Integrated solution for human resources department to view organization charts, phone directories, and other human resources data graphically via web browser | | SiteStation A web document and knowledge management system providing secure control for information sharing; a corporate portal to manage the content management framework for Intranets, Extranets and public web s | | SolutionPlanet_Ltd_ Providers of software for contact management, time and expense reporting, surveys, and Intranet portals. Also offer consulting on Lotus Notes and wireless technology (e.g. WAP, Palm) | | Vialect Intranet software solution featuring email, calendar, contact management, and document management. | | UniversalUsability_org News and views on the topic of universal usability. | | CHI_\'99 Computer-Human Interaction '99. 18-20 May 99, Pittsburg, PA | | EGVE_\'99 5TH EUROGRAPHICS Workshop on Virtual Environments. 31 May - 1 Jun 99, Vienna, Austria. | | IADIS_-_E-society_2004 The IADIS e-Society 2004 conference aims to address the main issues of concern within the Information Society. | | I3D_\'99 1999 ACM Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics. 26-28 Apr 99, Atlanta, GA | | IEEE_VR_2000 IEEE Virtual Reality 2000. 18 - 22 March 2000, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. | | International_Conference_on_Virtual_Storytelling This international conference will gather researchers from the scientific, artistic and industrial communities to discuss and explore ideas for the use of Virtual Reality technologies for creating, po | | INTUITION_Workshop_on_Virtual_Reality International Workshop on Virtual Reality aims at bringing VR experts together by allowing them to get in touch with up-to-date VR developments from the major stakeholders in the field. - Athens, 22 | | SIGGRAPH Yearly US conference and exhibition on computer graphics. | | VRACI_2004 ACM SIGGRAPH International Conference on Virtual-Reality Continuum and its Applications in Industry (VRCAI2004) NTU, Singapore, 16-18 June, 2004 Co-located with GRAPHITE 2004 International Confe | | VRML_\'99 Virtual Reality Modeling Language '99. 23-26 Feb 99, Paderborn, Germany. | | VRST_\'99 Virtual Reality Software and Technology Conference. 20-22 Dec 99, London, UK. | | VSMM_\'99 5th International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia. 1-3 Sep 99, Dundee, Scotland. | | Dartmouth_College_PKI_Lab Project to develop inter-institutional applications. Includes related links, research information and results, and contact information. |
|
RoboFesta-UK: UK Robotics Education News   SearchMain Menu· Home· News Archive· News by Topic· RF-UK Activities· RF-UK Downloads· RF-UK FAQs· RF-UK Useful Links· Search· Submit News· Surveys· Top 10· Your AccountGoogle AdSense
Relevant Knowledge·T180 Living with the Net: using computing to enrich your life·T182 Law, the Internet and Society: technology and the future of ideas·T183 Design and the Web·T184 Robotics and the Meaning of Life: a practical guide to things that think·T185 Practical Thinking: an online course in perception, ideas and action·T186 Understanding e-learning: a guide for teachers and learners·T187 Vandalism in Cyberspace: understanding and combating malicius softwareread more...Amazon Associate  OU Media Releases·Live mobile teaching aid shortlisted for prestigious award·Open University scientists help make sense of The Material World on BBC Radio 4·New inter-cultural DVD pack for schools launched by The Open University and British Council·Fantastic new Fossil Collection launched to accompany Fossil Detectives this autumn!·The Open University's Dr Joe Smith sets sail for the North Pole with Jarvis Cocker·A real court drama – The Open University and the BBC present The Barristers·ReLIVE08: Virtual Dreams in Milton Keynes·What else would you be doing at 1.30am on Monday mornings?·The Open University tells The Story of Maths on BBC FOUR·Advice for small businesses to beat downturnread more...Old ArticlesSaturday, July 05· Embedding Robotics in the Curriculum Monday, June 02· RoboFesta-UK at the Cheltenham Science Festival Tuesday, May 27· Techfest , Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay Thursday, May 01· Robots, Motion Capture and Special Effects Thursday, April 24· UK robotics can lead the world Wednesday, April 23· Auto lawn mower by a Meath Entrepreneur Tuesday, April 22· Intelligent Robots in Science and Society Friday, April 18· 3rd UK humanoid robot gathering - 19-April-2008 Monday, April 14· Rise of the Robots, 17-18 May 2008 Wednesday, April 09· Shadow Dexterous Hand on BBC Blue Peter · Your Future with Robots Thursday, April 03· Workshop on Embedding Robotics in the Curriculum · Ascribe extends integrated Pharmacy and Robotic IT systems Friday, March 21· RoboCupJunior 2008 UK Finals Saturday, March 08· Outstanding Contribution to the Science and Engineering Ambassadors Programme Thursday, March 06· Workshop on Embedding Robotics in the Curriculum Tuesday, March 04· Massive Exhibits At CeBIT, Global Conference In Hannover Germany Friday, February 29· AI-2008 Cambridge, December 2008 Wednesday, February 13· RoboFesta-UK at Shropshire STEM Fair on 7th March · RoboFesta-UK at the Wrexham Science Festival on 15th March Older ArticlesWickedRobots·Making the Robots·KRE8 Workshop·Penrith Library·Squirrel Class' Robots, Derwent Lower School·Wigmore Primary School·Ludlow Infant School·Press Images·RoboCupJunior UK·ROBOT MODELS FROM SATURDAY 19TH MARCH ·Southampton Scrapstoreread more...Amazon Associate  Have You Robodoodled Today?robodoodle.open.ac.uk
The Knowledge Media Institute and the Faculty of Technology at the Open University have collaborated to produce a unique public drawing event.
RoboDoodle encouraged children of all ages to log on to a special university website to make a sketch on-line of their own design for a really useful robot.
RoboDoodle was part of The Big Draw, the festival of drawing which took place throughout the UK in October, which is organised by The Campaign for Drawing.Robodoodle lillyTechnology NewsPosted by ashley on Monday, September 29 @ 07:05:37 BST (40 reads)Topic Robot Challenges and Competitionssteve writes "SNIPPETS 2
Areas covered are robotics, technology, events, grants, competitions and other related matters.
Comments
The end of last term saw my usual involvement in the annual Science and Technology Challenge Days in London, Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool. There was over 35 events, with about 350 schools and approximately 3500 secondary youngsters.
During the summer I was involved in two summer schools. One was a week long event for the Children's University at Bedfordshire University. This was a robotic week for primary aged youngsters, using Lego's RCX system. Some excellent work was achieved by the youngsters, with a successful presentation of their models to their parents and guardians on the last day.
The second event was a week long residential for the charity Generating Genius. It was a scrapyard challenge, for secondary aged youngsters and held at Brunel University. These youngsters also gave a successful presentation of their work at the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Not too sure when I'll issue Snippets 3, as I'm on the Isle of Wight for a week, undertaking robot events for both youngsters and parents. This culminates in a weekend event for gifted and talented youngsters.
Steve
Royal Society's Partnership Grants
This now offers up to £3000. Well worth a look at, with that sort of money BUT the closing date is near.
Go to http://www.royalsociety.org/partnership
Closing date is 7 November 2008.
FIRST LEGO League 2008 Climate Connections Challenge
Just launched on http://firsthandtechnology.org.uk/
Full details of the Challenge Robot Missions and Research Project now available for download.
Also, new Tournaments in Edinburgh and Birmingham open for team registration. Space still available at several other tournaments
See website Tournament map for details.
Second Annual London Schools Hydrogen Challenge
A special event is being held at City Hall on 17th September, if you register your team before 11th September.
Would seem the ideal way of getting your youngsters into the fuel of the future. Hey I run fuel cell events, as well as solar cell activities.
An ideal GREEN combination.
Go to http://www.lshc.co.uk/secondary/launch.asp to register
James May's Big Ideas on BBC TWO
I was informed of this by the Creative Robotics Research Network
James May presents a new series on BBC 2. Fully funded by the Open University, each programme looks at a specific idea – Personal Transport, Robotics and Energy. The series will go out on BBC 2 on Sunday 28th September at 9pm. This certainly seems worth viewing.
Visit http://www.open2.net/jamesmay from September 28th and have a go at James May’s Big Transport Challenge.
STEM - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - Directories
I run Science+Technology Challenge Events, Robot Events, Green Events, Scrapyard Challenges and much more. If that is not enough, then these directories are for you.
The 2008/9 STEM Directories – one each for Science, Mathematics, Engineering & Technology - have been created in direct response to teachers’ needs. To download pdfs or to receive more hard copies of the new Directories in the future, please go to the STEM Directories website at
http://www.stemdirectories.org.uk/
Deadlines
Free Roberta Training. Girls into Robotics with Lego's NXT. Bedford & Luton ebp. Contact Gerry Heather on heatherg@blebp.co.uk 17th and 18th October
Free Roberta Training. Girls into Robotics with Lego's NXT. Belvidere School Shrewsbury. Contact Dr Ashley Green at aagreen@btinternet.com 24th October
RoboFesta-UK Meeting at the Open University http://www.robofesta-europe.org/britain/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=448 6th November
Institute of Physics' Public Engagement Grant Scheme 2009 Round 1 http://www.iop.org/activity/outreach/Closing date: 7 November
National Science & Engineering Week (06 March - 15 March) School Grants http://www.the-ba.net/schoolgrants Deadline 28th November
Steve Thomas
www.steve-thomas.co.uk
steve.thomas5@ntlworld.com
" (Read More... | Score: 0)Robotics at Belvidere School, ShrewsburyPosted by ashley on Wednesday, August 27 @ 13:22:20 BST (2807 reads)Topic General RoboFesta-UK network newsBelvidere School is a secondary school in the picturesque Medieval Market Town of Shrewsbury, situated on the River Severn in rural Shropshire. It is located just a few kilometres from the remains of the Roman city of Wroxeter, with Ironbridge (the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution) to its east and the border with Wales to its west.
Robotics was introduced into the Design & Technology Curriculum at Belvidere School in 1999 by Assistant Headteacher Mark Walton, when he was Head of the Design & Technology (D&T) Department. Belvidere was one of the first schools in the UK to embed robotics in its curriculum. Classwork is based on the LEGO MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System and ROBOLAB.
In order to establish state-of-the-art facilities for teaching Design & Technology, Mark Walton approached hundreds of local companies in the West Midlands and was successful in obtaining a large grant from the Alcoa Foundation for the construction of a purpose-built Centre comprising robotics, electronics and product design laboratories, technician's workshop, laser cutters and other facilities. The Alcoa Foundation Centre was opened in 2002. Belvidere School achieved Technology College status in 2004 and Training College status in 2008. It is one of the UK's leading providers of in-service teacher training in electronics and robotics.
In 2003, Dr Ashley Green of The Open University established an after-school Robot Club which competes in the annual RoboCupJunior and FIRST LEGO League competitions. The school sent two RoboSoccer teams to represent the UK at RoboCup 2006 in Bremen, Germany as part of an EU-funded Comenius project involving schools from the UK, Germany and Portugal. All the Comenius teams' robots had bodies fabricated using Belvidere School's laser cutting facilities. The Robot Club is now embarking on a new 2-year EU Comenius RoboSoccer project involving schools from the UK, Austria, Germany, Portugal and Sweden. Last year, Belvidere School hosted the RoboCupJunior UK Finals in its new Sports Hall. (Dr Green has helped organise and run all the annual world RoboCup events since 2003, and has been serving on the RoboCup Executive Committee since 2006.)
In October 2007, Belvidere School became the first Roberta Regional Centre (RRC) in the UK, and hosted a 2-day teacher training workshop in its Alcoa Centre. The workshop was run by computer scientists from AIS Fraunhofer and the University of Magdeburg, Germany. Dr Green will be running a one-day Roberta teacher training workshop in the Alcoa Centre on 24th October 2008, and further workshops are planned in collaboration with the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Education Business Partnership (EBP). The RRC has ten LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT sets available for short-term loan to schools and colleges. Meole Brace School (a Science College) in Shrewsbury has used those sets to help establish robotics in its curriculum. When the new NXT-based Roberta curriculum materials become available in English, the Belvidere RRC will actively market its services across the central and northern regions of the UK. (Bedfordshire & Luton EBP is about to become a Roberta Regional Centre for the southern UK.) In addition to running teacher training workshops in the Alcoa Centre, Dr Green will be available to run training activities at other schools.
Belvidere School is currently involved in preparations for the Darwin Bicentennial Celebrations to be held in Shrewsbury (the birthplace of Charles Darwin) next year. The school is contributing to the robotics and animation elements of an exciting multi-disciplinary senior schools "Super Heroes" project which will culminate in a week of activities including robotics demonstrations in Shrewsbury's historic Town Square, the screening of animation shorts in the Old Market Hall, and a theatrical production in the new Theatre Severn. The RRC will be hosting a series of Masterclasses for the project this autumn, including Dr Alex Zivanovic on biomedical robots, Dr Jim Wyatt on humanoid robots, and Matthew Griffiths on computer animation. (A limited number of free places will be available to teachers interested in participating in these Masterclasses.)
For further information, contact Ashley A. Green.(Read More... | Score: 0)World Championship Robotic Win for Suffolk SchoolsPosted by ashley on Saturday, August 23 @ 12:08:17 BST (2832 reads)Topic Information about RobocupJunior UKTwo teams from Suffolk schools have returned with three World Championship trophies from the International RoboCup 2008 competition in Suzhou, China. The “Rock ‘n’ Roar” team is from Amberfield School and “St Trinian’s” is made up of pupils from both Amberfield School and Farlingaye High School. The aim of RoboCupJunior is to promote science and technology and to inspire young people to be involved with robotics. The teams were selected to represent the UK at RoboCup 2008 in Suzhou, China by winning regional and national competitions within the UK.
The teams have had to design, build and program autonomous robots that will perform a two-minute dance. The “St Trinian’s” team used as their inspiration the latest St Trinian’s film and designed a life-size humanoid robotic St Trinian’s Head Girl who danced alongside team members together with robotic ducks, computer controlled disco lights and party popper controllers. The “Rock ‘n’ Roar” team, who are all newcomers to RoboCup, based their dance on the music “The Eye of the Tiger”, creating robotic dancing tigers and exotic tropical flowers.
RoboCup is an international competition in which the best robotic teams from across the world compete for the coveted title of “World Champion”. This is the third year running that members of the “St Trinian’s” team have won this competition, which is an outstanding achievement unprecedented by any other UK team. Stephen Cameron, Reader in Computer Science at Oxford University, said “I hope that they get the recognition they deserve for this back home”. The robotic competition gets tougher each year as technology advances and more countries become involved in the competition.
Not only did the “St Trinian’s” team win first place in the Secondary Robotic Dance category but together with the “Rock ‘n’ Roar” team they also won the “Superteam Award” where teams from different continents and with different languages are given the challenge of producing a robotic dance together by re-programming their robots. This is a true test of the engineering skills of all the pupils to work together in a team to produce a new performance within 24 hours.
Dr Hughes, the team’s mentor, says “To win the World Championship title for 3 years running is an outstanding achievement for the “St Trinian’s” team. They have learnt so much about robotics, programming, engineering and teamwork. The challenge is intense when competing against the best teams from countries such as China, Japan, Australia, Germany and Portugal. I am particularly delighted with the success of the “Rock ‘n’ Roar” team. RoboCup is such a huge event it is very daunting to perform on stage being watched by an audience that comprises outstanding robotics engineers from around the world.”
It was an amazing experience for all members of the teams to be in China. The competition was hosted in the Expo Centre in the Suzhou Industrial Park alongside the Suzhou Science and Cultural and Arts Centre. Lizzie Grinnell says “Being part of this competition was an awesome experience that will remain with me for the rest of my life”. Without fail the Chinese people where so kind, helpful and welcoming.
For further details please contact:
Dr Nicky Hughes (ICT teacher Amberfield School).
Team members:
St Trinians (Amberfield School, Ipswich, Suffolk and Farlingaye High School, Woodbridge, Suffolk)
Josie Hughes (16), Lizzie Grinnell (16), Genevieve Hughes (14), Sophie Kennelley (16) and Tris Hughes (16)
Rock ‘n’ Roar (Amberfield School, Ipswich)
Emily-Rose Edgell (13), Abigail Lee (12), Liliuth Chamberlein (12)
RoboCup 2008 Prizes by Team:
St Trinian’s
World Champions, RoboCupJunior Dance (Secondary)
World Champions, RoboCupJunior Superteam Dance (Secondary)
Award for Best Presentation (Secondary Dance)
Rock ‘n’ Roar
World Champions, RoboCupJunior Superteam Dance (Primary)
Websites
Team Blog
RoboCup 2008
Blog by Stephen Cameron, Oxford University
Amberfield School
Farlingaye High School(Read More... | Score: 0)Seventh BCS Machine Intelligence CompetitionPosted by ashley on Wednesday, August 20 @ 16:54:34 BST (2873 reads)Topic The Seventh British Computer Society Machine Intelligence Competition
Wednesday 10th December 2008 at Peterhouse College, Cambridge, UK, during the annual SGAI conference AI-2008
Closing Date for Entries: 1st October 2008
This is the seventh in an annual series of competitions for live demonstrations of 'Progress Towards Machine Intelligence' organized by the British Computer Society Specialist Group on Artificial Intelligence (SGAI) in association with AKRI Ltd.
The demonstration can be of either software (e.g. a question-answering system or a speech recognition system) or hardware (e.g. a mobile robot).
This competition will put on show real systems demonstrated live. It is hoped that the competition and the competitors, over several years, will provide a new interest and visible improvements
in the development of machine intelligence.
Entry Fee: There is no entry fee and conference registration is not required.
Prize: A permanent trophy awarded for one year plus a £1,000 cash prize.
Format: The prize will be awarded on the basis of a 10-15 minute live demonstration (not a paper or a technical description). The prize will be awarded to the demonstration that in the opinion of the judges best demonstrates 'progress towards an intelligent machine'.
Judges: All registered delegates at the conference will be eligible to vote in a secret ballot.
Eligibility: The competition is open to all. A maximum of 5 entries will be presented. To control numbers, these will be selected by the organizers on the basis of information provided by the entrants.
Further information is available at
www.bcs-sgai.org/micomp/
or by email from the organizers:
Prof. Max Bramer (Chairman, SGAI)
Richard Ellis
Dr. John Gordon (Director, AKRI)
The AI-2008 conference website is at
www.bcs-sgai.org/ai2008/.
(Read More... | Score: 0)TAROS-08Posted by ashley on Wednesday, August 20 @ 16:36:57 BST (2897 reads)Topic Conferences & WorkshopsTowards Autonomous Robotic Systems
1st - 3rd September 2008
School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh
TAROS-08 is taking place at the University of Edinburgh from Monday 1st to Wednesday 3rd September 2008. We welcome robotics researchers from the UK, Europe and worldwide, to attend this conference on the principles and practice of autonomous robotics, including Artificial
Intelligence, Cognitive Sciences and Engineering methods.
INVITED SPEAKERS:
Professor Roland Siegwart, Autonomous Systems Lab, EPFL, Lausanne: Robotics for Real-world Environments
Professor Kasper Stoy, University of Southern Denmark: Reconfigurable Robotics.
THEMES:
TAROS-08 is the 9th conference in the TAROS (and previously TIMR - Towards Intelligent Mobile Robots) series of robotics conferences. The
papers this year are based in a wide range of subject areas: robot control; learning; localisation and mapping; touch, haptics, whiskers and fingers; robot walking and artificial muscles; robot vision and face recognition; bio-robotics; sound localisation; robot architectures; multi-robot systems - and others.
SPECIAL SESSION: PERSONAL AND SERVICE ROBOTICS
A special session on Personal and Service Robotics takes place on the afternoon of Monday September 1st followed by the Annual Meeting of the Virtual Research Centre in Personal Robotics
(http://vrcpersonalrobotics.org).
REGISTRATION:
Registration is now available via the TAROS conference website: www.taros.org.uk.
ACCOMMODATION:
Information on hotels and other accommodation is available on the conference website: www.taros.org.uk.
We look forward to seeing you in Edinburgh.
Dr Gillian Hayes
Dr Subramanian Ramamoorthy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information, please see the conference website at: www.taros.org.uk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr Gillian Hayes
Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour
JCMB, King's Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3JZ
Tel: +44-131-651-3440
Fax: +44-131-651-3435(Read More... | Score: 0)RoboFesta-UK 8th Annual Open MeetingPosted by ashley on Wednesday, August 20 @ 16:11:24 BST (2900 reads)Topic General RoboFesta-UK network newsThursday 6th November, 10.00am to 5.00pm
Berrill Lecture Theatre, Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA
Educators, academic researchers and industry representatives are meeting at the Open University on Thursday 6th November to discuss the development of RoboFesta-UK and Walking With Robots.
RoboFesta-UK is an exciting nationwide initiative to help children learn about science, engineering, technology and mathematics through building and experimenting with robots.
Walking with Robots is an EPSRC-funded three-year programme of events and activities designed to delight audiences with the potential of robotics research whilst encouraging them to consider both the technical challenges and ethical implications of that research.
The meeting will be designed to encourage participation from the attendees. Participants from all sectors are welcome - education (from schools to HE), museums/science centres, educational retail, and STEMNET member organisations.
The final session will explore the possibility of a UK Festival of Robotics aimed at pulling together many of the successful robotics outreach projects the community is delivering.
The RoboFesta-UK annual open meeting is unique in its scope, and in previous years has provided fertile ground for establishing new robotics related initiatives on local and national scales.
To register for this free event, please email robofesta@open.ac.uk , stating: your name, your contact details, your affiliation (company, university, etc.), and any special dietary requirements. A full program will be made available on the RoboFesta-UK website (www.robofesta-uk.org) in due course. We look forward to seeing you!
If you would like to exhibit during the lunch break or have any comments or suggestions for speakers, please email Claire.Rocks@uwe.ac.uk.(Read More... | Score: 0)Roberta teacher training workshop at Belvidere School in ShrewsburyPosted by ashley on Monday, July 07 @ 08:40:39 BST (3241 reads)Topic Conferences & WorkshopsDr Ashley Green of the Open University Robotics Outreach Group will run a free one-day workshop for teachers and educators from 9.00am to 4.00pm on Friday 24th October, in the robotics lab in Belvidere School's Alcoa Centre (maps and directions). The workshop will introduce participants to the Roberta curriculum, the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT and RCX systems which it utilizes, and the annual FIRST LEGO League and RoboCupJunior challenges. This workshop is intended for any teachers/educators who are enthusiastic and committed enough to spend a day undergoing the training to enable them to implement the Roberta curriculum in their own schools. Places on this workshop are limited and will be allocated to firstcomers. To reserve a place, please email aagreen@btinternet.com.
Belvidere School, Shrewsbury is the Roberta Regional Centre for the western and northern UK. Roberta-Goes-EU is an EU-funded educational program that takes girls and young women into the fascinating world of robots, where they can learn science, technology and IT in an exciting and realistic way - using real robots!
SETPOINT Bedfordshire & Luton will be the Roberta Regional Centre for the southern and eastern UK. Email Gerry Heather for further information.
Roberta-Goes-EU
Roberta Project Flyer (PDF)(Read More... | Score: 0)Armed Military RobotsPosted by ashley on Saturday, July 05 @ 22:12:49 BST (3227 reads)Topic International News
http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/~noel/soundofscience/Prog06.mp3
http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/~noel/soundofscience/Prog07.mp3
In this two-part special on Robots of War, Professor Noel Sharkey explains the ethical issues of using military robots that are allowed to apply lethal force on their own terms. These are not terminator-style robots; they are more like tanks, trucks or fighter jets. There are over 4000 robots currently deployed on the ground in Iraq. These are mainly for explosive ordnance disposal, although some are armed. There are also many robot fighter planes, such as Predators and Reapers. For now there is always a person in the loop to decide when to kill, but this is could change soon. Find out how this ties in with the Laws of War and the international laws on discrimination.
Noel interviews experts in this field – Professor Ron Arkin, director of the mobile robotics lab at Georgia Institute of Technology, Dr Peter Asaro, philosopher of technology at Rutgers University in New York, Matt Armstrong, an independent defence analyst in California, Rear Admiral Chris Parry who worked for the UK MoD, and Richard Moyes, policy director of Landmine action. Noel also attends the International Military Robotics conference in London and talks to military robotics people from NATO, the German and Swedish Armies, as well as the French equivalent of our MoD.
The Sound of Science(Read More... | Score: 0)Robots Podcast: Robot SoccerPosted by ashley on Saturday, July 05 @ 21:49:34 BST (3185 reads)Topic Robot Challenges and Competitions
http://www.robotspodcast.com/podcast/mp3/robots-20080704-episode3.mp3
To close this year's soccer season after Spain's victory in the EUROCUP we went to the robotic kingdom to see who was driving the game. With Prof. Manuela Veloso from Carnegie Mellon University and President-Elect of the International RoboCup Federation, we'll be looking behind the scenes of the best known competition in robot soccer. Finally, we'll be discussing the future of artificial dribblers and their odds against the human 2050 world champions with a poll and discussion on our forum.
Manuela Veloso
Manuela Veloso is Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, President-Elect of the International RoboCup Federation and leader of the Coral Research Group (Cooperate, Observe, Reason, Act, and Learn). Since the first official Robocup soccer games in 1997, she's been active in presenting teams to the Sony AIBO 4-legged league, the smallsize league, simulation league and Segway league with a great success at adding stars to the shirts of her robotic players with numerous first places in world and US championships.
In this episode we'll be focusing on CMDragons' cookie-box-like omni-wheeled robots from the small size league and their off-board perception.
We'll also be looking at how the CMDash team has tamed the AIBO robot dogs to perceive their world and cooperate in a decentralized manner. Veloso gives us some insight on the challenges related to competing against different opponents and the need for teams to adapt during the games.
Finally, since the AIBOs are no longer produced, the RoboCup Federation is now making way for the Nao humanoid as the next challenging platform in robot soccer along with other research driving leagues such as the Nanogram league.
Robots Podcasts(Read More... | Score: 0)UK Teams Preparing for Robot World Cup in ChinaPosted by ashley on Saturday, July 05 @ 21:30:36 BST (3169 reads)Topic Information about RobocupJunior UKRoboCup 2008, Suzhou International Expo Centre, 15-19 July
As tensions rise in the run-up to the Olympic Games, ten teams of youngsters are preparing to travel to China this month to represent the UK in the junior league at RoboCup 2008, to be held in the Suzhou International Expo Centre overlooking Jinji Lake on 15-19 July.
The teams will participate in three competitions – RoboDance, RoboRescue and RoboSoccer:
• In RoboDance, for children aged seven and over, one or more robots perform to music in a display emphasising creativity of costume and movement. Optionally, the contestants may dance along with their robots, and may even compose and perform the music.
• In RoboRescue, for nine to eighteen year olds, robots race to rescue victims in a simulated disaster. Each time they encounter a “body”, made of green or silver vinyl film, they stop and flash a lamp for two seconds.
• In RoboSoccer, for eleven to eighteen year olds, autonomous robots jostle for control of the infrared emitting ball, on a greyscale pitch.
For each competition, the team must build and program one or more robots appropriate for the task.
RoboCupJunior
The Open University Robotics Outreach Group is a multidisciplinary research group that develops widening participation and educational outreach activities and administers RoboCupJunior and other robotics competitions in the UK.
RoboCup is an international scientific endeavour whose goal is to produce a humanoid robot football team capable of beating the human World Cup champions by the year 2050. RoboCupJunior is designed to introduce RoboCup to primary and secondary school children. The focus in the junior league is on education. RoboCupJunior intends to inspire today’s children to become tomorrow’s engineers – perhaps the same engineers who’ll create the 2050 humanoid robot football champions!
RoboCupJunior offers several challenges, each emphasizing both cooperative and competitive aspects. For children, the Junior initiative provides an exciting introduction to the field of robotics, a new way to develop technical abilities through hands-on experience with electronics, hardware and software, and a highly motivating opportunity to learn about teamwork while sharing technology with friends. RoboCupJunior provides a unique opportunity for participants with a variety of interests and strengths to work together as a team to achieve a common goal.
This year’s ten UK teams were selected on the basis of their performance in regional tournaments and national finals earlier this year. The Dance final was held at Cranfield University in February, and the Rescue and Soccer finals were held at Calday Grange Grammar School, Wirral in March.
Dr Ashley Green, RoboFesta Research Fellow at the Open University and one of the organizers of RoboCup 2008, notes that “This year’s teams are having far more bureaucratic hurdles to overcome to get to the world finals than in previous years, but we’re all eagerly looking forward to spending a week in the classical garden city of Suzhou, which has been a centre of China’s silk industry for more than a millennium. We are fielding our strongest UK teams ever. Our World Champion Secondary Robot Dance team from Suffolk will be defending their title (earned at RoboCup 2007 in Atlanta last year) against stiff opposition from the best Chinese, German and Japanese teams. In their RoboDance performance St. Trinians, the team members dance in formation with a life-size humanoid robot that they’ve constructed and programmed themselves.”
RoboCupJunior History
RoboCupJunior began in 1998, with a demonstration at RoboCup-98 in Paris. The following year, RoboCup-99 in Stockholm exhibited the first interactive RoboCupJunior workshops.
At RoboCupJunior 2000 in Melbourne, over 25 teams from Australia, Germany and the USA participated.
At RoboCupJunior 2001 in Seattle, 25 teams from the USA, Australia, Germany and the UK entered soccer, rescue and dance challenges. A brother and sister team, Max and Grace Petre Eastty from Heronsgate Middle School in Milton Keynes, earned the title of World Primary Robot Dance Champions.
RoboCupJunior 2002 was held in Fukuoka, Japan. 59 teams from 12 countries participated.
RoboCupJunior 2003 was held in Padua, Italy. 68 teams from 15 countries took part.
RoboCupJunior 2004 was held in Lisbon, Portugal. 172 teams from 17 countries took part.
RoboCupJunior 2005 was held in Osaka, Japan. 160 teams from 18 countries participated.
RoboCupJunior 2006 was held in Bremen, Germany. 240 teams from 22 countries took part. An all-girls team from Amberfield School in Nacton, Suffolk won the title of World Primary Robot Dance Champions.
RoboCupJunior 2007 was held in Atlanta, USA. 124 teams from 23 countries participated. A team from Amberfield School and Farlingaye High School in Suffolk won the title of World Secondary Robot Dance Champions.
RoboCupJunior 2008 will be held in Suzhou, China. Approximately 200 teams from 21 countries are expected to take part.
Resources
http://www.robocup-cn.org/
http://www.robocupjunior.org/
http://rcj.open.ac.uk/
Images from previous RoboCupJunior events can be viewed at http://robotgallery.open.ac.uk/rcj-uk.
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