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Robots have the potential to help older adults with daily activities that can become more challenging with age. But are people willing to use and accept the new technology? A study by the Georgia Institute of Technology indicates the answer is yes, unless the tasks involve personal care or social activities.

MacGyver was an admittedly fictitious character who always knew what to do in a pinch. Quickly assessing his surroundings, the secret agent for the Phoenix Foundation would make use of what was available to him and break free from whatever makeshift cell he was being held in. MacGyver wasn’t a real person, of course, but it’s often the characters portrayed on screen which inspire scientific innovation. After all, would we really have iPads if it weren’t for a plethora of Science Fiction movies, such as 2001: A Space Odyssey?

Anthony J. Yezzi has been named as a Ken Byers Professor, effective October 1. As the director of the Laboratory of Computational Computer Vision, Dr. Yezzi has over 20 years of research experience in image processing, computer vision, and shape optimization using geometric partial differential equations.

Director of Human-Automation Systems (HumAnS) Lab Ayanna Howard has been named as the Motorola Foundation Professor, effective August 15. She is a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech. Dr. Howard serves as the chair of the RIM multidisciplinary robotics Ph.D. program. Her area of research is centered around the concept of humanized intelligence, the process of embedding human cognitive ability into the control path of autonomous systems. Dr.

Building robots for small and medium-size companies “is a fantastic opportunity,” says RIM Director Professor Henrik Christensen, world-renowned expert in robotics and industrial automation. There are many tasks, he says, that don’t require the speed and precision of today’s industrial robots, and these tasks are begging to be automated.

Reuters news agency interviewed Professor Dan Goldman who studies lizard locomotion as part of a research project to build robots for use in the desert. The ultimate goal is to replicate the reptiles' ability to move swiftly over - and through - sand without sinking into it.

The top-tier science magazine, Popular Science, has named Andrea Thomaz, assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing, one of 2012’s “Brilliant 10,” an award given by the publication to ten scientists under 40 whose innovations will change the world.  Thomaz, along with nine other researchers, is featured in the October issue of the magazine.

Ramya Ramakrishnan (advisor Dr. Andrea Thomaz) received President’s Undergraduate Research Award (PURA). This award will support the project “Improving Robot Behavior through Both Self and Human Social Learning”. Congratulations to Ramya and Andrea!

When you’re just a few microns long, swimming can be difficult. At that size scale, the viscosity of water is more like that of honey, and momentum can’t be relied upon to maintain forward motion.
Microorganisms, of course, have evolved ways to swim in spite of these challenges, but tiny robots haven’t quite caught up. Now a team of researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology has used complex computational models to design swimming micro-robots that could overcome these challenges to carry cargo and navigate in response to stimuli such as light.

If you've ever tried jogging on the beach, you'll know how hard it can be to run on soft sand. Now a robot that can scamper across the desert has helped to explain how lizards pull off the trick so effortlessly - and could provide insights that will allow better Martian rovers to be built. Just 10 centimetres long and weighing 25 grams, the six-legged DynaRoach is certainly speedy. On sand, it can cover a distance equivalent to five of its own body lengths every second, reaching a top speed of 1.8 kilometres per hour.