The Nonlinear Autonomous System Laboratory was recently featured across the web in various languages for the work on developing robot teams capable of restoring power post-disaster. These featured news articles include:
Author Archives: elwilken
Blackout? Robots to the Rescue
“Big disasters almost always result in big power failures. Not only do they take down the TV and fridge, they also wreak havoc with key infrastructure like cell towers. That can delay search and rescue operations at a time when minutes count.
Now, a team led by Nina Mahmoudian of Michigan Technological University has developed a tabletop model of a robot team that can bring power to places that need it the most….”
Original Article: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2014/september/blackout-robots-rescue.html
Michigan Tech’s ROUGHIE Gliders Will Follow Their Own Path
“Autonomous underwater vehicles only operate on their own after they’ve been programmed, following the plan and survey course they’ve been given. This is good for monitoring and data collection, but existing AUVs are less ideal for locating items lost underwater….”
Source: http://www.fondriest.com/news/michigan-techs-roughie-gliders-will-follow-path.htm
Toward Smarter Underwater Autonomous Vehicles
The Nonlinear Autonomous System Laboratory was recently features across the web for the work with ROUGHIE. News outlets reporting on the robot include:
Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140529142028.htm
Phys.org: http://phys.org/news/2014-05-smarter-underwater-drones.html
Newswise: http://www.newswise.com/articles/toward-smarter-underwater-drones
A to Z Robotics: www.azorobotics.com/news.aspx?newsID=5756
Michigan Tech Researcher Nina Mahmoudian and her Team of Student Researchers are Working to Build a Better Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
“The news was not good. An underwater drone armed with the best technology on the planet had descended repeatedly to the bottom of the Indian Ocean, trying to find Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Time after time, it turned up nothing.
If Nina Mahmoudian has her way, the next generation of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) will have a much better chance of getting it right…”
Original article: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2014/may/toward-smarter-underwater-drones.html
Tech Tour Day Four: Just Another Incredible Saturday Of MTU Research
“My next stop was at Michigan Tech’s remarkable $25 million, 50,000-square-foot Great Lakes Research Center, with Guy A. Meadows, its director, and Nina Mahmoudian, an assistant professor and research scientist at the center….
That’s where Mahmoudian and a $300,000 submersible robot comes in. She’s director of the Nonlinear and Autonomous System Laboratory in the Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics department at Michigan Tech, where she develops algorithms to make the autonomous submersible vehicle smarter in dealing with problems like collision avoidance….”
Lake Superior Water Festival
“High school students from the five western UP counties will spend today at Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center, learning about the Great Lakes, water research and careers they might consider in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The Water Festival is sponsored by the Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, based at Michigan Tech….”
Assistant Professor Nina Mahmoudian and her NASlab team introduced GUPPIE and ROUGHIE underwater swimmers.
Full Story: http://blogs.mtu.edu/greatlakes/2013/10/2013-lake-superior-water-festival/
Iver 3 Charts New Waters
“The uses of Iver are not just limited to behavior of currents, however. Nina Mahmoudian, assistant professor of mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics and an expert on autonomous control of robots, is working with GLRC researchers to develop algorithms that will allow Iver to track long underwater features. “Those could be pipelines crossing the Great Lakes, or they could be underwater communication cables,” Meadows explained. “If we decided to develop offshore wind power systems in the Great Lakes, it could follow those power cables. Most importantly, it could check municipal water intakes.”
Full Story: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/october/story98363.html
Great Lakes Research Center: One Year Old and Growing
“To do this, Tech will use a the first of a new generation of autonomous underwater vehicle provided by Enbridge—a $400,000 research effort with a piece of high-tech equipment that the GLRC will get to keep after the project is done. Nina Mahmoudian, assistant professor of mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics, and a graduate student working with her will develop pipeline inspection algorithms based on data collected by the autonomous underwater vehicle.”
-Full Story: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/june/story91086.html
SURFing for the Summer
“Hiking to waterfalls, enjoying the beaches of Lake Superior, getting ahead of schedule with summer classes—all things that a summer at Michigan Technological University has to offer. As it turns out, developing a new autonomous underwater glider is also on the list…”
Full Story: http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/august/surfing-for-summer.html