Wheeled wonder

In 2011, futuristic service robots began moving through the halls of the Gates and Hillman centers, guiding people and transporting items between locations. Known as CoBots, or “collaborative robots,” these robots autonomously plan to respond to task requests, execute their plans by moving accurately and safely, and follow what their creator, alumna and University Professor Manuela Veloso, calls novel symbiotic autonomy.

Symbiotic autonomy refers to the idea that while a CoBot can navigate autonomously in indoor environments, it is aware of its perceptual, cognitive and actuation limitations. CoBots, which are armless laptops on wheels, will ask nearby humans for help when stymied, such as when pressing elevator buttons or picking up objects.

"CMU is the perfect place to conduct this work because of the outstanding quality of our graduate students," Veloso said in commending her top-notch team, which included Joydeep Biswas, Brian Coltin and Stephanie Rosenthal, for their work. "And also because CMU empowers people to follow real, novel and daring research ideas."