As intractable problems accrue and grow, artificial intelligence is increasingly being called upon as part of the solution. Carnegie Mellon University AI researchers have stepped up to help surmount these obstacles where large data sets must be analyzed and patterns discovered to find answers. Last year, the National Science Foundation teamed up with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as well as corporate sponsors Accenture, Amazon, Google and Intel to provide $220 million in grants to create 11 new institutes specifically dedicated to AI research across a wide range of sectors. CMU's School of Computer Science and College of Engineering faculty will work with four of these new institutes: the AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture, the AI Institute for Collaborative Assistance and Responsive Interaction for Networked Groups, the AI Institute for Future Edge Networks and Distributed Intelligence, and the USDA-NIFA Institute for Agricultural AI for Transforming the Workforce and Decision Support. Learn more about these institutes and meet the researchers leading the work in our magazine, The Link.

As the countdown started, a boxy robot with four big wheels carrying a host of cameras, sensors, communication equipment, autonomy software and the computing power to make it all work together rolled down a ramp into a dark tunnel. It did not know where it was, what was ahead of it or where it was going. It was there to explore. Over the next hour, more robots followed: wheeled robots, drones and a dog-like quadruped. Team Explorer deployed eight robots for the final round of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Subterranean, or SubT, Challenge -- a three-year competition during which teams from around the world raced to develop robotic systems that could autonomously operate in underground environments like caves, mines or subway stations for search and rescue missions.

The Computer Science Department's new course focusing on issues of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion in computer science and society got its start when a group of graduate students decided to create the training they wished they had received. And after hundreds of hours of work by 15 Ph.D. students --pilot programs, countless conversations with faculty and students, data gathering, and developing and tweaking course material -- CS-JEDI: Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion is now a required part of the curriculum for incoming Ph.D. students in computer science. It's also being looked at as a model by both other departments in the School of Computer Science and universities elsewhere. The course was created and taught by Abhinav Adduri, Valerie Chen, Judeth Choi, Bailey Flanigan, Paul Göelz, Anson Kahng, Pallavi Koppol, Ananya Joshi, Tabitha Lee, Sara McAllister, Samantha Reig, Ziv Scully, Catalina Vajiac, Alex Wang and Josh Williams -- all doctoral candidates in SCS who represent nearly every department in the school. The team received Carnegie Mellon University's 2022 Graduate Student Service Award and will be honored during the Celebration of Education Award Ceremony on Thursday, April 28.

The Carnegie Mellon University Libraries latest exhibition highlights the history of robotics at CMU and the ongoing work of The Robotics Project to preserve the legacy of the field. The exhibition, "Looking Back To Move Forward / A Re:collection of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon," opened Jan. 19 and runs through Friday, March 18, in the Hunt Library gallery. A virtual tour is available for visitors to explore the exhibition remotely. Curated by archivist and oral historian Katherine Barbera and Kathleen Donahoe, the Robot Archive processing archivist, "Looking Back To Move Forward" invites viewers to explore the history and the wide variety of research areas that CMU is known for, including field robotics, artificial intelligence and human-robot interaction, among others. Visitors will see more than 40 robots and archival artifacts -- such as soccer robots, snake robots, a nurse robot called "Pearl," a "Snackbot" autonomous food-delivery robot, and "Terregator," one of the first outdoor autonomous vehicles -- along with personal recollections from the people who made it all happen.

The Association for Computing Machinery has named Anupam Gupta and Matthew T. Mason 2021 ACM fellows. The ACM recognized Gupta, a professor in the Computer Science Department, for his contributions to approximation algorithms, online algorithms, stochastic algorithms and metric embeddings. Mason, a professor emeritus in the Robotics Institute, was honored for his contributions to robotic manipulation and manipulation path planning. Gupta and Mason were among 70 fellows recognized in 2021. "Computing professionals have brought about leapfrog advances in how we live, work and play," said ACM President Gabriele Kotsis. "New technologies are the result of skillfully combining the individual contributions of numerous men and women, often building upon diverse contributions that have emerged over decades.

Imagine flying a small, robotic aircraft from goal post to goal post on an American football field. Now, repeat the flight 470 more times, and you'll match the record-setting 32-mile autonomous drone flight recorded by Aakash Sinha's industry-leading startup based in New Delhi. "It's only the beginning," said Sinha, a 2003 School of Computer Science graduate with a master's degree in robotics. "I'm super excited about how drones can change things, not just here in India but globally." From delivering vaccines in hard-to-reach areas to limiting fossil fuel leaks in expansive pipelines, the possibilities for positive change are endless.

Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian highlighted the collaboration among government, academia and industry that has propelled Pennsylvania's autonomous vehicle (AV) industry forward during an event Wednesday outlining new legislation regulating AVs in the commonwealth. The legislation, unveiled at CMU's Mill 19 facility at Hazelwood Green by state Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee; and Yassmin Gramian, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, would update Pennsylvania's policies around autonomous vehicles to mirror requirements in other states. Jahanian said that the global market for the autonomous vehicle industry will reach about $7 trillion dollars by 2050, with the potential to create countless jobs for workers of all education and skill levels. "While the economic impact of AV promises to be extraordinary, it also holds remarkable potential to enhance quality of life for citizens across the nation and contribute to solving significant societal challenges," Jahanian said, adding that benefits could include improvements to traffic safety and infrastructure maintenance and reductions in carbon emissions. He also noted that the technology's implications could extend to logistics, sustainability, medical care and expanding opportunities for independent living.

The National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) -- an innovative model for academic-industry collaboration founded 25 years ago to catalyze robotics research, development and commercialization -- has dramatically transformed the Pittsburgh region, its economy and the robotics industry, says a report released by Carnegie Mellon University. "The impact of Carnegie Mellon's NREC has been game-changing, not just for igniting a thriving technology industry in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania but also for revolutionizing robotics and catalyzing its impact across the globe," said CMU President Farnam Jahanian. "As NREC marks its first 25 years and plans for the future, the report's findings reinforce what insiders have always known: NREC's innovations have transformed entire industries and are helping to solve some of humanity's greatest challenges." CMU collaborated with NASA, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the City of Pittsburgh, local foundations and other partners to create NREC. The center began with an initial investment of less than $10 million and has raised more than $500 million in total direct funding to date -- a remarkable 50 times the original investment.

A virtual, autonomous racing challenge launching this week will enable aspiring racers to head to the track without building a car, knowing how to brake and accelerate through a corner, or leaving their computer. And as teams tackle the demands of high-speed and safe driving that pushes race cars to their limits, they will improve the safety of autonomous vehicles and the learning algorithms teaching them to drive. The Learn-to-Race Autonomous Racing Virtual Challenge started Monday, Dec. 6. Competitors use the Learn-to-Race environment to teach an artificially intelligent agent how to race. The challenge is coupled with a workshop on Safe Learning for Autonomous Driving, which is accepting research paper submissions.

Changes in the global climate system are exacerbating the risk and intensity of large-scale natural disasters. With tragic effects resulting from unprecedented heat, drought, cold and wet conditions, such as torrential rains, mudslides, flash floods, earthquakes, hurricanes and wildfires, robots can provide a rapid and accurate response in finding survivors when every minute counts.