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Robots. Specifically, robots helping soldiers in the battlefield. U of M computer science and engineering professor, Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos, along with his students and colleagues, has developed "the Scout"—a cylindrical robot about the size of a soda can. The robot is currently being tested for search and rescue missions and military reconnaissance deployments. The Scout is equipped with a video camera that transmits video in real time to the human operator. Built to be extremely rugged, the Scout can withstand heat, gravity, sun and difficult terrain. It can go under cars and into tight spaces—all in an effort to safely find where people are trapped or where danger lurks. Papanikolopoulos says he's thrilled by the opportunities that come from robotics. "You can sense the impact that your work has on individual lives," he says. "And that's rewarding." But he couldn't do it alone. Papanikolopoulos credits his students and colleagues. "You have all these brains around you pushing you harder to rethink your solution. That's how research moves forward."
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