Carnegie Mellon University researchers in the Quality of Life Technology Center (QoLTC) will embed wireless sensors in the residences of about 50 older adults who live alone to see if they can detect subtle changes in everyday activities that indicate the onset of dementia or physical infirmities.

The Engineer’s Society of Western Pennsylvania has named William “Red” Whittaker, University professor of robotics, as the winner of this year’s William Metcalf Award

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) have developed a plant-sorting machine that uses computer vision and machine learning to inspect and grade harvested strawberry plants and then mechanically sort them by quality — tasks that until now could only be done manually.

The Associated Press has posted a YouTube video regarding the Google Lunar X Prize and the efforts of William "Red" Whittaker, professor of robotics, and Astrobotic Technology Inc. to win the $20 million race to the moon. You can view the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnTN3DYJeiw

Robotics Institute project scientist Ben Brown and his BowGo extreme pogo stick were recently featured on Discovery Channel Canada’s “Daily Planet” program. The clip, which shows an extreme pogo athlete using a BowGo to jump over a car, can be seen here. The segment on BowGo begins about 7 minutes into the video clip.

More than 1,000 area middle school students will demonstrate their problem-solving skills, creative thinking and teamwork as they pit their customized robots against each other in the “Smart Move” Challenge on Saturday at the National Robotics Engineering Center in Lawrenceville.

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute have converted a 2001 Scion xB into an electric commuter vehicle that will serve as a test bed for a new community-based approach to electric vehicle design, conversion and operations.

Automated methods for discovering astrophysical phenomena by sifting through massive amounts of cosmological data are being developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Washington under a new three-year, $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Dmitry Berenson, a PhD candidate in the Robotics Institute, is the winner of a prestigious Intel PhD Fellowship, one of just 26 winners nationwide in the highly competitive program.

Daniel Munoz, a first-year Ph.D. student in robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, is the first recipient of the QinetiQ North America Robotics Fellowship, which will provide him with three years of educational support. The fellowship also includes an internship with QinetiQ North America.