Humanoid Robots Are Focus of Research at Purdue
From: Purdue University News - 10/24/2012
By: Emil Venere 

Purdue University is involved in an international initiative to develop
humanoid robots capable of responding to disasters. Purdue's focus is the
creation of algorithms for the robot to climb an industrial ladder and
traverse an industrial walkway, says Purdue professor C.S. George Lee. The
algorithms are being used to program a HUBO II robot, and Lee says the
project combines research in computer vision, locomotion and balance control,
and machine learning. The effort is part of the US Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency's Robotics Challenge. The researchers are using wireless
technology to communicate with the robot. One student has programmed HUBO II
to perform tai chi, using a Microsoft Kinect camera to capture himself doing
the movements and then transferring the information to the robot, enabling it
to execute the captured motions. The robot's two computers respectively
process vision data from a head-mounted camera and control its 38 motors.
"There are numerous other potential applications for humanoid robots of the
future, including space exploration, assisting the elderly, and working
side-by-side with people in various environments," Lee notes. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2012/Q4/humanoid-robots-are-focus-of-research-at-purdue.html

Links:
Hubo II Humanoid Robot Is Lighter and Faster, Makes His Creator Proud
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/033010-hubo-ii-humanoid-robot-is-lighter-and-faster

Hubo II Humanoid Robot Running (video 1:01)
http://replicantsrobotics.blogspot.com/2012/09/hubo-ii-humanoid-robot-running.html

C. S. George Lee 
https://engineering.purdue.edu/ECE/People/profile?resource_id=2910