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A decontamination robot sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and designed by several local universities was recently tested in Richmond, Va. The robot—initially designed for shipboard firefighting and maintenance tasks—has now been enlisted in the fight against Covid-19.

The Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot is an ONR-sponsored prototype designed to assist Sailors with damage control and inspection aboard naval vessels.

More than 300 high school and college engineering students tested their mechanical, electrical, computer and systems engineering skills while competing for cash prizes at the recent 20th International RoboSub Competition.

As the lead of curriculum for the Naval Aviation Maintenance Center for Excellence Training (NAMCE-T) unit at Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC), Point Mugu, California, Master Chief Avionics Technician Andrew Karsten wanted to give his students more than just PowerPoint instruction. He wanted them to get a feel for the parts of the plane they were going to be tasked with repairing – the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. However, obtaining parts for that hands-on experience was going to be a challenge. Karsten reached out to TechSolutions and asked, if there was a way to potentially obtain a 3D printer or connect him to somebody who could provide 3D printing services. TechSolutions is the Department of the Navy’s (DoN) rapid response program that addresses warfighter needs by quickly developing science and technology-driven solutions. Although the request was out of scope for the program, which does not facilitate getting commercially available products, TechSolutions took immediate action to help. Dr. Scott Steward, then-deputy director of TechSolutions, connected with colleagues in their network to find someone who may be able to support the warfighter’s request. Sailors and Marines interested in learning more about TechSolutions may email the team at ONR_TechSolutions@navy.mil.

Sixteen teams hit the water with custom-built autonomous surface vehicles at the eighth annual RoboBoat Competition, held in Virginia Beach.

How to make a robotic arm that is able to flex in an infinite number of ways and order it to do so without disorder and confusion? Get yourself an octopus and study it. That is exactly what researchers funded by the Office of Naval Research are doing. Octopuses are boneless, brainy, and ancient...

Students from around the globe competed for bragging rights and cash prizes in annual RoboSub Competition.

A team of researchers led by Dr. Rajesh Rao, a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Washington, recently published a paper showing how robots can learn much like children—amassing data by watching adults do something, determining the goal of the action and then deciding how to perform it on their own. Rao’s work is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

Autonomy and the future force were in the spotlight, as nine student-led teams tested their maritime engineering skills during the 10th annual International RoboBoat Competition in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The Association for Computing Machinery named ONR-sponsored scientist Dr. Judea Pearl as its 2011 A.M. Turing Award winner -- the highest award in the field.