The AcYut-II robot, designed by students from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS Pilani), India, has won the bronze medal in the middle weight Humanoid category at the 2009 RoboGames  that were held in San Francisco on June 12-14. In this annual competition BITS Pilani team has won India's first medal.The RoboGames are the world's biggest open robot competition with over 250 teams participating from 28 different countries in 70 different competitive events. RoboGames is recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as "The World's Largest Robot Competition."   The AcYut team from the Center for Robotics Intelligent Systems (CRIS) at BITS Pilani built their second humanoid, AcYut-II, after placing 6th at the 2008 competition from a group of 30 contenders.The AcYut team under the guidance of Professor Dr.R.K. Mittal includes team leader Samay Kohli and Sushma Vallabhaneni, Mohammad Ariz and Akash Gupta.  Following the games, the students will begin a three month research project at the University of Louisiana as part of Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, a joint initiative.

The AcYut-II robot

Dr. Krishna Saraswat, Rickey/Nielsen Professorship of Engineering at Stanford University  also works with the AcYut-II team. He said, "The students from BITS Pilani who have committed  themselves to the AcYut project are a part of the amazing community of researchers, academics and industry leaders who will bring humanoid robotics into our homes, hospitals and businesses."    AcYut-II is taller than its predecessor and has a higher torque motor which enables it to punch harder. AcYut-II can move very quickly around corners, reducing its chances of falling out of the ring during a Kung Fu match. The students developed a bodysuit for controlling AcYut-II from a distance, allowing the robot to mimic the students' actions. This enables the robot to perform more complex moves instead of a limited set of pre-programmed moves that are possible with a hand-held remote.     "Their Robot was almost one meter tall and that is an amazing feat of engineering," said David Calkins, Founder of RoboGames. "The results show that the team clearly learned and adapted based on last year's competition, and proves that their collaborative approach bridging research in India and the U.S. works; the team should be proud."     AcYut was sponsored by companies including Force10Networks, Sierra Atlantic, Oriental Insurance and Continental Airlines and also received funding from the BITS Alumni Association (BITSAA).  Sierra Atlantic CEO Raju Reddy said, "BITS mandates real world experience for its four year degree and requires students to spend nine months in internship programs. With such innovative programs for industry-university collaboration, BITS has always been a source of great talent and we are delighted to partner in their success at RoboGames."     The BITS-Pilani Alumni Association is hosting a reception on June 16, 2009 at India Community Center (ICC) in Milpitas, Calif., where the students will demonstrate AcYut-II to media and thought leaders from the technology industry and academia.

[Information Technology ] [ Environment ] [ Agriculture ] [Renewable Energy ] [Clean Water ] [ Education ] [ Child Care ] [Health Care ] [ Wild Life ] [Railways] [ Airways ] [ Weather] [ Contact Us ] [Advertise ] [ About Us ] [ Disclaimer ]