IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2015 - 175

the robots would be operating and figure out the needed adjustments to the
robot's programming and hardware.
Ewing and Griggs-York traveled
twice to China to work with the championship RoboCup team at Zhejiang University. "Their hardware is among the
best in the world, but it was designed to
win matches," Ewing said. "Our needs
are very different." Adapting the hardware to increase the durability of the
soccer bots makes them heavier. While
this may slow the robots down a little,
they can still deliver a crowd-thrilling
performance.
Keeping the diverse group of robots
running is a big task. Maintenance and
repairs are done in front of guests in the
exhibit's ROBOGARAGE by Adrian
Choy, lead robotic specialist, and his
staff. About 200 batteries need to be
changed every day. They also provide

insight about careers in robotics. While
working in the exhibit, Anna Brill, one
of the specialists, answers questions such
as "What is your background?" and "My
kids are interested in engineering, what
should they study in school?"
During the run of Robot Revolution,
the MSI will provide opportunities for
outreach during special Robot Block
Party weekends. These events will be
based on the museum's popular National
Robotics Week celebrations. Guests will
have an opportunity to talk directly with
robotics researchers and see demonstrations of their newest work, gain insight
into what is on the horizon in robotics
and explore advancements in STEM
education. The museum's exhibit content and programming is always greatly
enhanced by partnerships with researchers at academic institutions and research
and development labs.

After Robot Revolution finishes in
Chicago, it will travel to eight other
major science centers in the United
States, with the possibility of traveling
overseas. The exhibit team will work
with the robotics partners to keep the
content current over the years of the exhibit, updating the robots and videos to
keep pace with advances in the field.
The MSI will also work with each venue
and reach out to the robotics community and provide opportunities for researchers to engage with a broad
audience and showcase current work.
Robot Revolution is sponsored by
Google.org with additional support
from The Boeing Company, RACO
Industrial, The David Bohnett Foundation, The Kaplan Foundation, and
United Airlines. To learn more about
Robot Revolution and associated
events, visit www.msichicago.org.

Social Implementation
of Disaster Robots and Systems

he United Nations held the
World Conference on Disaster
Risk Reduction on 14-18
March 2015 in Sendai, Japan
[1]. This conference announces a
framework of action for disaster reduction of worldwide activities and national actions every ten years. The
Hyogo Framework of Action, announced in 2005, has had a major inf luence on the policies of each
participating nation.
The IEEE Robotics and Automation
Society organized a public forum,
"Social Implementation of Disaster
Robots and Systems" on 14 and 16
March in cooperation with Tohoku University International Research Institute
of Disaster Science, the International
Rescue System Institute, the COCN

Disaster Robot Project, the Japan Cabinet Office ImPACT Project, and JSME
Robotics-Mechatronics Division Technical Committee on Disaster Robotics
[2] (Figures 1 and 2). A voluntary commitment of robotics for risk reduction
discussed at the forum was announced
at a working session of the main body of

the conference on 15 March as a part of
the Sendai Framework of Action [3].
The forum theme on 14 March was
social implementation of disaster robots
and systems. The forum addressed the
current state of disaster robots and systems and action plans for the future. Six
top leaders in this field including Hajime

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2015.2452112
Date of publication: 11 September 2015

Figure 1. The invited speakers for the public forum on Social Implementation of Disaster
Robots and Systems: Current State, Gap, and Action Plans on 14 March.

September 2015

IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - September 2015