NSF - OLPA - PR 01-78: AT WTC SEARCH, GRADUATE STUDENTS DEPLOY SHOEBOX-SIZED ROBOTS

Robotics expert Robin Murphy, an associate professor of computer science at the University of South Florida, was called immediately and arrived on site the morning after the collapse. Murphy's research on experimental mixed-initiative robots for urban rescue operations was originally funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Her response team included three graduate students -- Jenn Casper, Mark Micire and Brian Minten - who helped her develop the robots and their software-guided "marsupial" systems. These intelligent anonymous "marsupial" robots are especially useful in rubble because the "mother" robot releases smaller robots to explore tight spaces unreachable by other means. The mother carries the little ones in its "pouch" into the site as far as she can maneuver, releasing and providing "power" as the "babies" descend from her to perform their search negotiating smaller crevices and hidden spaces.