TECHNOLOGY
In collaboration with Virginia Tech’s Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe), Virginia Center for Autonomous Systems researchers are using robots to generate road profiles that can help advance tire technology.
Drones to the rescue? Virginia Tech is at forefront in robotics and how they can be used to help humans. by Donna Alvis Banks
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freakish snowstorm paralyzed Atlanta’s freeways on Jan. 29. It left shivering motorists stranded in vehicles where some suffered medical emergencies, and one woman gave birth. Reports of gridlock hindering efforts to locate and assist people prompted Craig Woolsey, a Georgia native and director of Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Photos courtesy of Uncork-It
Autonomous Systems (VaCAS), to think of drones. Drones – unmanned aircraft popularized in science fiction – mostly have been used in military combat. “Now,” according to Woolsey, “there’s a push to commercialize drones in this country.” That’s why the news of Atlanta’s woes immediately put Woolsey’s wheels in motion: “Why not use drones to
look for and assist stranded citizens?” Since his research focuses on nonlinear control theory and its application to autonomous air and marine vehicles, Woolsey’s instinct is to theorize about possibilities for the future. That’s hardly surprising for someone who works at a university that has established itself as a leader in the field of robotics. From Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to machines designed to work like humans and cars that drive themROANOKE BUSINESS
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