[hackerspaces] Something of interest from University of Tartu's robot list

[markus järve]

*TU/e starts open source system for faster development of better,
lower-cost robots*

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Many universities around the world are working on the development of
robots. In most cases independently, which means development takes longer,
robots remain costly and products from different groups are incompatible.
That’s why Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is today starting
the Robotic
Open Platform <http://www.roboticopenplatform.org/> (ROP), an open source
system for robot hardware. The aim is for this to become a large plug and
play library to which robot builders worldwide can add their designs or
improve existing ones. The higher goal is to accelerate the development of
applications such as care robots, and to make them much cheaper than they
are at present. TU/e itself is making available the complete blueprints of
its AMIGO care robot and the well known TU/e soccer robots.****

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The heart of the Robotic Open Platform is a Wiki, in which all participants
can make their designs available for others to copy or improve. The aim is
for all elements in the Wiki to fit together seamlessly, both literally and
figuratively, for example by standardization.****

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*Much lower cost*

Working together in this way will make development possible much faster and
at much lower cost. “We’re putting all the drawings, diagrams and
descriptions online that are needed to build a replica of our AMIGO robot”,
says dr.ir. René van de Molengraft, one of the robot researchers at TU/e.
“The idea is that this information will allow other research groups to
build the robot at a relatively low cost. If you want to buy a robot like
this, it costs around three or four hundred thousand euro. Our aim is that
within a few years you’ll be able to build the successor to our AMIGO for
10,000 euro. By putting everything in the public domain you can get many
more interested parties involved in the development, which means progress
will be made much faster.”****

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All the information about AMIGO is available online from today at
www.roboticopenplatform.org. Early next year all the technical
documentation will be added for the soccer robots of TU/e’s Tech
United team<http://www.techunited.nl/>,
which has played in the final of the RoboCup soccer World Championship in
each of the past four years.****

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*Example*

The Robotic Open Platform will be the hardware counterpart of the existing
ROS <http://www.ros.org/> (Robot Operating System) open source system for
robot software. This was started in 2007 in the USA, and many robot
developers have joined in the initiative. For example the software of AMIGO
is also based on the principles developed in ROS.****

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*European robotics week*

The launch of ROP is taking place during the European Robotics
Week<http://www.robotics-week.eu/>,
from 28 November to 4 December. The week features more than 340
robotics-related activities, organized by 127 institutes, to focus
attention on the growing importance of robots for society (
www.robotics-week.eu).****

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*dr.ir. J.H. Sandee*
*Program manager
*Fac. Mechanical Engineering

Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ
P.O. Box 513, Gem.Z. -1.131
5600 MB Eindhoven
The Netherlands

*T *+31 40 247 5423
J.H.Sandee at tue.nl
www.tue.nl****

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Name: Cmc // Markus Järve
Web:   http://cmc.tech-thing.org/wordpress/
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