Team ProbatioNerds from IIT worked with Matrix to control an HR-OS1, sending commands through a chatroom (in the presentation, from a phone) to move the robot from anywhere in the world! They subsequently won an HR-OS1 from Matrix, which we’re sure is being put to good use. Check out their presentation! They explain the architecture a bit, and programmed the HR-OS1 to do the macarena, which is endlessly entertaining. Congratulations, ProbatioNerds! We’re looking forward to seeing what you come up with next!

HEIR Lab (Humanoid Engineering & Intelligent Robotics), at Marquette University took their robot to RoboCup 2015 in Hefei, China! The team is lead by Andrew B. Williams, Ph.D., who has written up a fantastic post on the subject.

This week, our students in the Marquette University Humanoid Engineering & Intelligent Robotics (HEIR) Lab are participating in perhaps the largest and the oldest robot hackathon in the world, RoboCup, in Hefei, China. RoboCup is sometimes referred to as the World Cup of robotics and artificial intelligence. This is the tenth anniversary since I founded and led the Spelman College SpelBots to our first RoboCup in Osaka, Japan and it is a privilege to lead our current, outstanding team from Marquette University College of Engineering: Matt, Adrianna, Ryan, and Sally.

For the rest of the post, check out his blog, and make sure to watch their Qualification video from RoboCup 2014 below!

ATRIAS, built by the Oregon State University’s Dynamic Robotics Laboratory, directed by Dr. Jonathan Hurst, is an awesome bipedal robot. ATRIAS is capable of balancing itself on changing terrain, rolling hills, and even while being pelted by dodgeballs! This robot is clever, and we wish the team lots of luck at the DARPA Robotics Challenge in Pomona, CA on June 5-6, 2015.