Dr. Robin R. Murphy, director of the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR) and associate professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of South Florida, visited the New York Hall of Science Thursday afternoo
Her seminar was part of Sci Quest 2002, a celebration of science and technology for New York City, where expert scientists in the field of robotics present their futuristic robots to the public.
Murphy’s robots were of great help at Ground Zero. On the day of the attacks, Murphy was contacted by the National Institute for Urban Search and Rescue and asked to bring her search and rescue robots to New York. That afternoon, Murphy and her students — Jennifer Casper, Mark Micire and Brian Minten — took six robots to help rescuers look for people trapped in the rubble.
The advanced robots can navigate through rubble to look for trapped victims in places where rescuers can’t go. They were there for about two weeks. Their shape-shifting robots can venture into spaces too small or dangerous for people or dogs. Murphy has drawn national attention for her work, which expands the reach of robot intelligence and applies it to the rescue of accident victims.
The seminar was held in conjunction with the Robotics exhibit at the Hall of Science. For more information on the exhibit, visit www.nyscience.org or call 699-0005.
