IRES: US-Korea Collaborative Software- and Hardware-Design of Humanoids for Real-World tasks in Human-Centered Environments

福岛核灾难是机器人的觉醒时刻。 尽管经过多年的研究和各种各样的机器人，执行像转动阀门和连接软管这样的任务，仍然无法完成。 如果在事故发生的最初阶段就执行这些任务，大部分后果本来可以避免。 辐射水平太高，迫使救援人员等待，灾难越来越大。 发电厂和工业场所是以人为中心的环境，其特征通常是需要进入或攀爬的门、舱口、楼梯和梯子。 此外，这种环境具有需要操纵和连接的阀门、软管和开关。 然而，机器人还不够成熟，无法在这样的环境中有效地发挥作用和有效地操作。 这个为期3年的IRES项目合作伙伴是美国和韩国的机器人专家，他们分别拥有类人机器人软件和硬件设计的专业知识。 我们的目标是协同设计类人机器人在以人为中心的环境中运行。 这既重要又紧迫，既能满足国家需求，也能满足国际需求。 这种服务和缓解的机器人要求耦合的软件和硬件的发展，机器人？的形式必须遵循其功能。 项目？的智力价值源于一个统一的算法框架的制定。 现在的类人生物有模仿人类的外形吗？的运动，但缺乏软件的功能和运作，在以人为中心的环境。 通过IRES，至少有12名美国学生将在韩国度过6个月的时间在KAIST Hubo实验室工作。 这种伙伴关系使美国软件开发人员能够推动韩国硬件的努力，并共同设计未来版本的KAIST？世界级的人形机器人。 该项目将广泛影响研究、教育、商业发展和K-12课程：类人设计将推进腿部运动、全身运动规划、感知和灵巧操纵方面的研究;在KAIST为期6个月的经验，教育美国学生进行国际研究合作;韩国机器人公司的参与，帮助美国学生开发产品;与费城高中的课后计划将产生基于机器人的教学模块。 净效应是一系列更广泛的影响，这些影响是由IRES促成的，并且在项目完成后可持续很长时间。

The Fukushima nuclear disaster was an awakening moment for robotics. Despite years of research and a wide range of robots, performing tasks like turning valves and attaching hoses, could not be done. If such tasks were executed in the earliest stages of the accident, much of the aftermath could have been averted. The fact that radiation levels were too high, forced rescue workers to wait and the disaster grew. Power plants and industrial sites are human-centered environments that are often characterized by doors, hatches, stairs and ladders that need to be entered or climbed. Additionally such environments feature valves, hoses and switches that need to be manipulated and connected. Robots however are not mature enough to efficiently function and effectively operate in such environments. This 3-year IRES project partners American and Korean roboticists who respectively have expertise in the software and hardware design of humanoids. The objective is to collaboratively design humanoids to operate in human-centered environments. This is both important and urgent, addressing both national and international needs. Such service and mitigation by robots demands the coupled development of software and hardware where the robot?s form must follow its function. The project?s intellectual merit stems from the formulation of a unified algorithmic framework. Current humanoids have the form to mimic a person?s motions but lack the software to function and operate in human-centered environments. Through the IRES, at least 12 American students will each spend 6-months in Korea working at the KAIST Hubo Lab. This partnership enables the American software developers to drive Korean hardware efforts and together design future versions of KAIST?s world-class humanoid. The net effect will be a robot that can efficiently function and effectively operate in human-centered environments like power plants and industry sites for collaborative tasks, humanitarian assistance and disaster response.The project broadly impacts research, education, business development and K-12 curricula: humanoid design will advance research in legged locomotion, whole-body motion planning, perception and dexterous manipulation; the 6-month experience at KAIST educates US students in international research collaboration; the involvement of Korean robotics companies helps US students develop products; and the after-school programs with a Philadelphia High School will yield robotics-based teaching modules. The net effect is a set of broader impacts which are enabled by the IRES and sustainable well after the project completes.