Carnegie Mellon Will Compete in Abu Dhabi Robotics Challenge

A group of Carnegie Mellon University students and faculty is among 30 teams from around the world that will compete at the biennial Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC), one of the world's largest and most prestigious robotics competitions. The event will take place Feb. The competition in the United Arab Emirates will literally be a trial by fire, said Oliver Kroemer, co-leader of CMU's Tartan team, as the organizers have advised that one segment of the competition - a firefighting challenge - will include real flames. "The competition includes a nice suite of forward-looking applications," said Kroemer, an assistant professor in CMU's Robotics Institute. The firefighting challenge, for instance, will use drones and ground-based robots to detect and extinguish high-rise fires. Other challenges include a construction scenario in which robot teams place large blocks in a row. In another, addressing the threat of drones flying too close to airports and military installations, teams will use their drones to track and intercept aerial targets.