05/04/10 — VT’s College of Engineering Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory have built CHARLI (Cognitive Humanoid Autonomous Robot with Learning Intelligence), the first untethered, autonomous, full-sized, walking, humanoid robot with four moving limbs and a head, built in the United States. As CHARLI takes his first steps, anxious onlookers stand ready to catch him if he falls. His stride is short, but upright, as one foot is placed in front of the other in the basement of Virginia Tech’s Randolph Hall. Students prepare CHARLI for his walk at the group’s Randolph Hall basement facility (From left) Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory students Taylor Young,…

04/21/10 — Robonaut2, a two armed humanoid robot jointly developed by NASA and General Motors to work cooperatively and safely side-by-side humans on Earth and in space, is to become a permanent resident of the International Space Station. NASA will launch the first human-like robot to space later this year to become a permanent resident of the International Space Station. Robonaut 2, or R2, was developed jointly by NASA and General Motors under a cooperative agreement to develop a robotic assistant that can work alongside humans, whether they are astronauts in space or workers at GM manufacturing plants on Earth. The 300-pound…