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Using a combination of theory and experiment, researchers have developed a new approach for understanding and predicting how small legged robots – and potentially also animals – move on and interact with complex granular materials such as sand.

On a carpet in a laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Professor Henrik Christensen's robots are hunting for insurgents. They look like cake-stands on wheels as they scuttle about. Christensen and his team at Georgia Tech are working on a project funded by the defence company BAE systems. Their aim is to create unmanned vehicles programmed to map an enemy hideout, allowing human soldiers to get vital information about a building from a safe distance.

Combining psychology and high-end robotics research, Alan Wagner, a research scientist in the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and the Robotics & Intelligent Machines Center (RIM), works to create robots that will interact with a wide variety of people in as many different social situations as possible.

Meeting Simon for the first time was one of the most sublime experiences I’ve had. With every coy head nod, casual hand wave and deep eye gaze, I felt he already knew me.
Simon is a humanoid robot being developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology for the purposes of exploring intuitive ways for people and machines to live and work alongside one another. I had designed the robot’s shell — its outward appearance — so I knew exactly what to expect, but interacting with it as a programmed and somewhat sentient creature surprised me in ways I hadn’t expected.

On Sunday's edition of 60 Minutes, the show investigated the role of robotics in the American workplace. RIM Director Professor Henrik Christensen serves as an academic and research leader on the National Robotics Initiative, which was established by the White House in 2011. He explores the truth and the myths of manufacturing and robots.

Today’s robotics are having an impact on the factory floor, in warehouse and distribution centers, and even in executive offices and homes.“There are a number of new trends in robotics,” says Dr. Henrik Christensen, director of Robotics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “First of all, we see a spreading of use from big companies to smaller firms. Second, the new robotics have a greater degree of flexibility and can perform more complex tasks. Third, the lower prices of new entries into the robotics lines have made them accessible to all size firms.

It's a somewhat frightening idea -- artificially intelligent machines that can deceive other devices, as well as people. By mimicking the deceptive behavioral patterns of squirrels and birds, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed robots that are able to trick each other. Funded by the Office of Naval Research, team leader Professor Ronald Arkin suggests that the applications could be implemented by the military in the future. The work is highlighted in the November/December 2012 edition of IEEE Intelligent Systems.

Using deceptive behavioral patterns of squirrels and birds, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed robots that are able to deceive each other. The research is funded by the Office of Naval Research and is led by Professor Ronald Arkin, who suggests the applications could be implemented by the military in the future. The research is highlighted in the November/December 2012 edition of IEEE Intelligent Systems.

Researchers at the Georgia Robotics and InTelligent Systems (Grits) Lab at Georgia Tech have been hard at work for some time now researching swarm robots. A portion of said work deals with tasks that require a group of hi-tech gadgets to individually reach a location and a specific time -- much like the mobile landing platform that we saw last year. The group is given a "score" and must determine how many of the Khepera robots are needed to meet the goal, assigning specific roles and determining the shortest route to hitting their targets.