Latest News
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
CareMedia team lead by QoLT Faculty member Alexander Hauptmann develops a method for tracking the locations of multiple individuals in complex, indoor settings using a network of video cameras. The method was able to automatically follow the movements of 13 people within a nursing home to within one meter of their actual position 88 percent of the time, even though individuals sometimes slipped out of view of the cameras. MOREThursday, May 23, 2013
Daniel P. Siewiorek has formally been named the Director of the Quality of Life Technology (QoLT) Center – a National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center (ERC) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and the University of Pittsburgh (PITT) focused on creating intelligent systems that improve quality of life for everyone while enabling older adults and people with disabilities.
MOREMonday, May 6, 2013
Recent collaborations by QoLT's computer vision and robotic manipulation experts has resulted in a Lifelong Robotic Object Discovery (LROD) process that enables HERB - a two-armed, mobile robot - to discover almost triple the number of new objects in a home-like laboratory setting at a computer processing time that is reduced by factor of 190. By adding domain knowledge to the robot's video input and taking advantage of all of the information available to it — an object’s location, size, shape and even whether it can be lifted — a robot can continually discover and refine its understanding of objects.
MOREWednesday, March 27, 2013
Rory A. Cooper, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Quality of Life Technology Center, is scheduled to receive the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) 2013 Paralympic Scientific Award at its VISTA 2013 conference about equipment and technology in Paralympic sports – one of Dr. Cooper’s areas of expertise. MOREMonday, March 11, 2013
QoLT's Home Exploring Robot Butler, better known as HERB, is featured in a YouTube video that is part of OREO's ongoing "Cookie vs. Creme" campaign. The OREO twist challenge allowed researchers to validate manipulation algorithms that explore how robots can assist people at home, in ordinary kitchen environments, on simple cooking and snack preparation tasks. MORETuesday, February 5, 2013
The Carnegie Science Center has selected Elaine Houston (PITT-RST) as a 2013 recipient of the Carnegie Science Award. Houston - a contributor to the QoLTbots Testbed System - was chosen by a committee of peers for recognition in the category of University/Post-Secondary Student. MORETuesday, December 11, 2012
Tiramisu Transit, a Carnegie Mellon University spin-off founded by QoLT Researchers in Safe Driving and Human-System Interaction, won this year's Federal Communications Commission Chairman's Award for Advancement in Accessibility in the Geo-Location Services category. Tiramisu is a smartphone app that enables transit riders to create realtime information about bus schedules and seating.
MOREMonday, December 10, 2012
QoLT Co-Director and QoLTbots Systems Co-Leader, Dr. Rory Cooper, will speak at the National Academy of Sciences on December 19, 2012 as part of a special, public Workshop and Forum on Fostering Independence, Participation, and Healthy Aging through Technology. Cooper's talk will explore "Technologies to Promote Activities of Daily Living and Independence" with emphasis on personal mobility. MOREMonday, November 5, 2012
The Quality of Life Technology Center inspired a new conference track
and symposium at the 2012 RoboBusiness Leadership Summit focused on business growth opportunities in assistive
robotics. Director Dan Siewiorek and Executive Director Jim "Oz" Osborn served as invited speakers to help kick-off the event additions associated with the emerging QoLT segment.
MOREMonday, October 29, 2012
QoLT Thrust Leader, Christopher Atkeson, has been selected to receive funding to lead "Team Steel" in the DARPA Robotics Challenge. The Track B team will compete by developing simulation software for humanoid robots that can drive, walk through debris, and do repairs in high-risk or disaster scenarios. MORE
