VaCAS Spotlight
Virginia Tech wins Collegiate
Aerial Robotics Exhibition
Virginia Tech's Collegiate Aerial Robotics Demonstration (CARD) team won first place at the 2013 Collegiate Aerial Robotics Exhibition. The contest required teams to build both a ground robot and an aerial robot to launch tennis balls at targets, and CARD had the only robot that could reload itself during competition.
Led by VaCAS member Kevin Kochersberger, the CARD team was formed in fall 2012. Team members are sophomores studying engineering or computer science.
Leigh McCue-Weil honored by
American Society of Naval Engineers
VaCAS member Leigh McCue-Weil was honored with the Rosenblatt Young Naval Engineer Award from the American Society of Naval Engineers. The award recognizes young engineers who demonstrate "superior innovation and insight," and "outstanding technical leadership."
McCue-Weil studies ocean engineering dynamics and control. Her research includes dynamic deck motion limits, statistical approaches for dynamical analysis, nonlinear and chaotic vessel dynamics, and parametric rolling.
DARPA Robotics Challenge
The Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) is preparing its newest humanoid robot, THOR, to compete in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge. The disaster-relief robot will perform tasks such as clearing rubble, driving vehicles, and using power tools.
Led by RoMeLa director Dennis Hong, the project team will receive up to $4 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. Hong calls the effort "the greatest challenge of my career." The team also includes VaCAS director Craig Woolsey.