August 5, 1995

N.C. State robot cleans up at international competition

Many potential office basketball stars have ended their careers early simply because picking up missed shots is a bothersome task. Robots like "Lola," an autonomous robot at N.C. State University, may provide the needed assists.

"Lola" and a team from the NCSU Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering won first and second place awards at the 1995 American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) International Robot Competition, held August 21-23 in Montreal, Canada.

Facing much larger teams, graduate students Rich LeGrand and Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna, who are pursuing advanced degrees under the direction of Dr. Ren C. Luo, comprised the only team to enter the two events offered and the first in the history of the competition to receive both a first and a second place award.

"Lola" outperformed all other robots in the office cleanup event by sorting regular and recyclable trash, and putting the trash into appropriate bins while intelligently negotiating obstacles in its path.

The team took second place in the office delivery event, in which the robot navigated through a labyrinthine office and reached a goal room while intelligently coping with blocked corridors and other obstacles.

The competition, now in its fifth year, is the most prestigious within the robotics community, according to Luo. In 1993, an N.C. State team also won a first place award. This year's award makes the university the only one to win two first place awards in the competition's history.

The team is part of the Center for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (CRIM), which is directed by Luo. PHOTOS AND VIDEO AVAILABLE

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