Communications of the ACM
Engineer Says Robotics Can Use a Woman's Touch
Texas A&M College Station professor Robin Murphy says the most effective rescue robot design is slow moving, painted yellow or orange, and has lights underneath so a victim can see it approaching.
Credit: Carrie Pratt / St. Petersburg Times
Texas A&M at College Station computer science professor Robin Murphy creates rescue robots designed to slither through collapsed buildings, fly over wildfires or floods, and check the integrity of a bridge from underwater, sending back live video and audio. "We've gone from things that look like a camera on wheels to things that look like an eight-foot-long caterpillar," Murphy says.
After a disaster, a small flying robot could help in the long-range planning for survivors by providing information about the surrounding area and how people are using it.
Murphy encourages other women to pursue rescue robotics research because the field is so new and could benefit from female-influenced research styles. She says the most effective rescue robot design is slow moving, painted yellow or orange, and has lights underneath so a victim can see it approaching.
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