A Massachusetts professor today won a portion of $500,000 grant from Microsoft (News - Alert) Corp. for a widely anticipated robotics project, according to reports.

 

University of Massachusetts Lowell professor Holly Yanco will split her share of the money with seven other research teams, including one from MIT (News - Alert) and one from Yale University.

 

According to the university’s Web site, Yanco founded the school’s Robotics Lab seven years ago. Her Microsoft-backed project will use tabletop multitouch displays to create an interface for emergency personnel to interact and monitor with robots deployed during the response to a disaster, officials say.

 

Part of the impetus behind Yanco’s project was the federal government’s slow response to help individuals displaced by Hurricane Katrina three years ago. At that time, emergency responders used hand-drawn paper maps to search for survivors, and robotic cameras were used, but were limited to sending video only to operators at the site, and not immediately to command staff. Yanco has said her research project is designed to find out how to remedy that shortcoming.

 

At her Robotics Lab, researchers focus on human-robot interaction, according to the school’s Web site. That interaction ranges from visual displays and evaluation methods to a new HRI architecture for robots. Application domains include assistive technology, urban search and rescue, explosive ordinance disposal, and hazardous materials response.

 

Yanco’s new project was chosen from a field of 74 by Microsoft after its External Research division distributed a request for proposals to create more sophisticated robots.

 

The disaster-response project falls into one of many categories that the university’s lab focuses on, including assistive robotics, interactive learning and robot vision and interaction.

 

According to a brochure published by the lab, “Improving Disaster Response with Mobile Robots and Multi-Touch Technologies,” the disaster of Hurricane Katrina revealed “a large technological gap.”

 

“Although satellite and aerial information existed, it was not available to or used by search teams,” the brochure says. “Instead, during the night, U.S. Geological Survey and state forestry personnel manually generated area maps.”

 

The maps were distributed to search personnel in the morning for daily grid searches, the brochure says, but the UMass Lowell Robotics Lab envisions a far better way to gather and use information.

 

“Our system will allow collaboration on the interface by multiple users on multiple layers,” according to the brochure. “Thus, informed discussions can occur, risks can be properly assessed, a plan can be developed, and resources efficiently allocated. If a significant finding occurs in the field, the plan can be quickly modified.”