Robot pioneers hard at work

From Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" to James Cameron's "Terminator," films have warned about the possibility that robots and machines might eventually turn against humans. While they haven't yet reached that level, there are pioneers who are advancing the field of robotics for useful things. IU's amateur robotics club has those people.\n"We do cool stuff," said David Sharp, president of IU's Robotics Club. \nThe idea of putting together robots from scratch might seem overwhelming, especially for someone with no experience, but Sharp said that doesn't matter.\n"We don't ask that new members know anything about robotics," he said. "All we ask is that they be interested in learning, and they have some sort of inner drive to keep doing it."\nDavid Bonner, a junior majoring in computer science, came into the club with no prior experience with robots. Since joining, he has helped in the creation of a robot that went to Pittsburgh to participate in a robot volleyball competition. \n"The club is pretty much there to help people get into robotics, especially people who are interested but really are not sure where to start, and give them access to people who can help them along the way," he said.\nGraduate student Michael Brady said he likes the club because of the faculty expertise.\n"The club is a community of people to bounce ideas off of and some experts who can answer difficult questions," he said.\nMost members of the Robotics Club are either cognitive science or computer science majors, but Sharp said that should not discourage people from joining. \n"For the most part I think (the members') coursework has nothing to do with their success in the club," Sharp said.\nThe club has a wide variety of ongoing projects, including robots that can mow the lawn, called the "Goer," a robotic hand which can play simple tunes on a saxophone and one that plays robotic volleyball, which will participate in a tournament. Another robot, named "Junior," knows where he is and travels from place to place without running into solid objects. Currently, it is operated with human assistance. A mapping system for "Junior" detects solid objects while roaming, but instead of colliding with the object and then learning not to go farther, the robot will simply avoid it, change course and continue exploring the room. When the creators finish the mapping system, "Junior" will be able to operate autonomously, knowing where objects are and avoiding them in the future. \nAs far as overall purposes for the club, Sharp said there are two: First, to help people learn about the technology, including electronics, mechanics, programming; and second, to get people with common interests together in one place so they can be fueled by each other. \n"All I care about is that we have good people that are interested and motivated," Sharp said.\nThe Robotics Club meets at 8:30 p.m.,Tuesdays. For more details, visit the club's Web site at www.indiana.edu/~roboclub/.\n-- Contact staff writer Tom Schafbuch at tschafbu@indiana.edu.