November 30, 2003
An Article on the SegBot
Here is an interesting article on some of the research being done with the SegBots. These are segway machines that have been converted to automatic control.
University of Southern California researchers are working on ways to get the Segway to act as a "mule" that follows humans around, carrying their gear. The robotic Segway hauls as much as 45 kilograms.
Another USC project involves controlling the way the Segway pitches and bounces over rough terrain so it can carry sensitive cargo, perhaps an injured human, according to lead researcher Gaurav Sukhatme.
A University of Pennsylvania lab is getting a robot-controlled Segway to communicate with an autonomous robotic blimp and small, truck-like vehicles so they can work as a team to find a designated object in a certain geographic area. The robots would navigate and communicate with each other autonomously, but a human would oversee the whole network.
I still hope to get one of these for my lab.