Carnegie Mellon University
October 14, 2011

News Brief: Interbots Wins First RoboBowl

Interbots, a Pittsburgh company that was spun off from Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, took first place and won $25,000 at the first RoboBowl competition. TactSense Technologies of Pittsburgh finished in second place and won $10,000.

The venture competition was sponsored by the Robotics Technology Consortium, Carnegie Mellon and the Innovation Accelerator. It was intended to identify start-up and early stage companies with compelling ideas for next-generation robotics products and services in the healthcare or quality of life industries. Five finalists presented their ideas to a panel of judges on Oct. 13 at the Posner Center.

Interbots presented a plan for creating an affordable consumer robot and accompanying iPad/PC software that would allow therapists and parents to guide autistic children through activities that practice social referencing skills. TactSense presented its novel tactile feedback system for robotic surgical systems.

RoboBowl Pittsburgh is the first in a series of national venture competitions for next-generation robotics.