<Johnson Receives NSF CAREER Award for his work on robot mobility>

 

Aaron Johnson, professor of engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, was awarded a CAREER

award by the National Science Foundation for his work on robot mobility. The awards, which are a

part of the school Early Career Development Program, are given to people early in their careers

who are believed to play a neighborhood in furthering their area of science. The awards support

their research and academic goals. Johnson's research seeks to enhance a robot's ability to steer

, jump and grasp. Currently, robots aren't bad at moving — if they're during a carefully controlled

environment with known terrain. Johnson wants robots to achieve success without this prior

knowledge in order that they can adapt to changing conditions. He plans to make a replacement

control generation that's better equipped to handle these challenges. The changing conditions are

going to be a better match to the important world, increasing robotic applications, which Johnson

says might be found within the healthcare, environment and manufacturing industries. The award

also details an idea for K-12, undergraduate and graduate outreach through robotic activities.