October 21, 2008   

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute is celebrating University Professor William L. “Red” Whittaker’s 60th birthday and the 25th anniversary of field robotics, a discipline he founded, with a two-day event Oct. 24-25. Whittaker, who is also the Fredkin professor of robotics, established the area of research that focuses on creation and deployment of robots in the natural world. He will deliver a public lecture, titled “Robots at Work,” at 3:30 p.m., Oct. 24 in 7500 Wean Hall. The talk will explore the latest technical innovations in field robotics and also present applications for these robots in energy, agriculture, construction, mining, security and exploration.

On Saturday, Oct. 25, the institute will host a daylong symposium celebrating field robotics and featuring some of the most distinguished experts in the field. The symposium will be held in the Giant Eagle Auditorium in Baker Hall on the university campus. See http://www.fr25.org/ for complete details.

The Friday talk and Saturday symposium will be webcast at http://www.fr25.org/webcast.

For more information on the Field Robotics Center, see http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu.