Robotic Rewards
Gifts assist new high-tech health care lab.
Spring 2013 · Comment ·
Advancing robotics to improve heath care and first-responder applications is the focus of a new lab in the UT Arlington Research Institute.
Recent gifts of high-tech robots totaling more than $1 million will help the Assistive Robotics Laboratory focus on improving technology to aid nurses, navigate dangerous terrain, and much more.
RE2 Inc., a Pittsburgh-based robotics engineering firm associated with Carnegie Mellon University, gave UT Arlington a robotic nursing assistant. The mobile, manipulative device with two arms aids health care professionals with physically intensive tasks, such as helping a patient sit up or be transferred to a gurney. The device is valued at $850,000.
QinetiQ North America Inc., a Reston, Va.-based company noted for its global leadership in developing and fielding tactical ground robots, donated a Dragon Runner™ 20 model robot and funding to assist with research and development. The small, portable DR-20 device can navigate various terrain and aid in reconnaissance or first-responder scenarios. The company’s contributions are valued at $250,000.
The gifts advance the partnership between private-sector technology giants with strong ties to Defense Department research and the UT Arlington Research Institute.
“RE2 and QinetiQ North America have played critical roles in developing robots that have reduced the risks faced by our military servicemen and women,” says retired Army Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, executive director of the Research Institute. “These technologies can be refined and adapted for myriad civilian uses and put to work to help us all live better lives.”
