Baxter Robot™ Grant Proposal Starter Kit

Presented by: Rethink Robotics™ January, 2015

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Baxter Robot Grant Proposal Starter Kit Thank you for your interest in purchasing the Baxter Robot. This revolutionary platform from Rethink Robotics has been adopted by colleges, universities, manufacturers and corporate R&D centers around the globe. The following information is provided to assist the development of grant and budget proposals which include funding for the Baxter Robot.

General product information

Baxter Robot Overview:

The Baxter Research Robot

The Worlds Safest Production Robot

STEM Rocks and Baxter Rules

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The Baxter Robot comes in two versions; the Baxter Research Robot, with direct programming access via a

standard ROS API interface, and the Baxter Manufacturing Robot with a built-in user interface and training

by demonstration. Baxter is an affordable humanoid robot platform with two 7-axis arms, integrated

cameras, sonar, torque sensors, accelerometers, and. It is entirely safe to operate around humans without

the need for safety cages or other guarding equipment, and is a versatile tool for academic and corporate

researchers alike to develop new applications in a wide range of disciplines.

The Baxter Robot is designated a recommended package for NRI proposals in the United States: Baxter

Robot has been designated as a recommended package for funding proposals submitted through the

National Robotics Initiative (NRI), a specific funding program offered by the National Science Foundation,

NASA, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to accelerate advances in

human-robot collaborative research. A link to NRI project page is provided here for your reference:

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14500/nsf14500.htm

Baxter Robot Labs. We will provide comprehensive, ready-to-use robot labs for manufacturing robot

curriculum. These labs teach the following concepts:

o Robot set up, calibration, grippers and gripper installation, configuration and training and

preventive maintenance.

o Fixturing, custom grippers, part presentation, Blind pick and place, stacks and arrays

o Vision-guidance, lighting, optimization

o Sequencing, coordination, cycle time, paths, waypoints

o Tracking moving parts, testing model robustness, ROI, Payback Period,

o Modbus I/O signals, branching, PLC ladder logic, Barcode reading, hold, pause

The Baxter Research Robot Community Page, including links to our User Forum, SDK Wiki, and more, can

be found at www.rethinkrobotics.com/sdk.

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Relevant diagrams

Diagrams of the Baxter Robot’s reach and work envelope are below:

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A diagram of the Baxter Software Development Kit (SDK) Architecture (also available on the Baxter SDK

Wiki) is below:

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Examples of applied research with the Baxter Research Robot Autonomous Systems: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/07/31/cmu-shows-off-new-humanoid-robot/ Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University successfully used the Baxter Research Robot in conjunction with their mobile delivery robot, CoBot, to collaborate autonomously for order fulfillment. In this example, CoBot and Baxter communicate directly via ROS bridge, to update each other dynamically while executing the task. This communication takes two forms; delivery fulfillment and positioning. In delivery fulfillment, CoBot requests a specific, QR-coded part from Baxter, and Baxter utilizes its embedded camera system locate and then pick the requested object. Next, Baxter queries CoBot for its position, and if Baxter is unable to reach, requests CoBot to move to a new location. Finally, Baxter delivers the part to CoBot, and asks CoBot to go deliver the part. Human-Assistive Robotics: http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2013/10/uw-professors-develop-electrical-and-computer-engineering-high-performance-cluster.html Researchers at the University of Wyoming are using the embedded cameras and safety compliance of the Baxter Research Robot to develop new programs aimed at improving human rehabilitation through visual and physical assistance of remote patients. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mbdias/ Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are using the Baxter Research Robot to explore novel ways in which assistive robots can empower individuals with disabilities, particularly in overcoming the challenges of navigating unfamiliar environments and achieving independent transportation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW3DhVdfuoc Researchers at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute utilize a customized controller designed for handicapped persons, and a MATLAB® implementation interface, to drive the movements of the Baxter Research Robot. This work may contribute to more capable home assistance robots for individuals with physical disabilities. http://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g275/p6611681 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine are planning to use the Baxter Research Robot, coupled with novel end-of-arm tooling and human interaction algorithms, to help provide rehabilitation services to patients suffering from dysfunctions arising from aging and/or neural injury.

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Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXJiRUdhuZs Researchers at the Cornell Robot Learning Lab are using the Baxter Research Robot to develop new algorithms to enable robots to more effectively and efficiently gather information about their environment, to help them become better operators of human tasks in the real world. Computer/Machine Vision: http://pr.cs.cornell.edu/deepgrasping/index.php#baxtervideo Researchers at Cornell University use a Kinect-style camera mounted to the frame of the Baxter Research Robot to enable autonomous real-time decision-making and task execution in response to changes in the environment. In this example, Baxter “learns” dynamically to pick up previously unseen objects by utilizing novel vision algorithms to process and deconvolute complex 3-D images in real-time. Results of this work were recently published: Deep Learning for Detecting Robotic Grasps, Ian Lenz, Honglak Lee, Ashutosh Saxena. In Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS), 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g1GUDVF8mI Researchers at the Missouri University of Science & Technology use a Kinect-style camera and the open source Point Cloud Library to enable the Baxter Research Robot to localize objects in a randomized field under conditions considered challenging for traditional 2-D vision systems. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrXPMXvV8Ms Researchers at MIT use the Baxter Research Robot’s inherent grasping and path trajectory capabilities together with a Kinect-style camera to reproducibly generate 3-D models of people and objects, with a goal of compiling a comprehensive library of environmental models for use in marine environments. Mechatronics & Grasp Research: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j185byIn59g&list=PLe7Pue7SRXZFGDFzHpjlyG9qDOxo9RDZz Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are using Baxter as a humanoid test platform for novel gripper development, with goals of improving robotic grasping in both industrial and prosthetic applications.

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Education & Outreach: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa0_eqD4psU Researchers at Tufts University use Baxter as part of their Engineering and Education Outreach program, which is focused on increasing engineering education integration in grades K-12. To promote this goal, the group has developed a series of novel user interfaces for the Baxter Research Robot, including one based on LabView, to allow children to more readily and easily explore topics ranging from applied physics to mechatronics to computer programming. See also the recent webinar featuring their work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4mTGd2qIc8&list=PLe7Pue7SRXZFGDFzHpjlyG9qDOxo9RDZz http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Courses/Data/104.html Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley are using the Baxter Research Robot as part of a unified introduction to robotics principles for undergraduate and beginning graduate students in the department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences. http://robotics.northwestern.edu/ Researchers at Northwestern University are using the Baxter Research Robot as one of the testbeds for their Master of Science in Robotics graduate program. Students will make use of the platform in courses and projects focused on a variety of topics, including motion planning, haptics, and human-robot interaction.

Examples of Manufacturing applications with the Baxter Manufacturing Robot Autonomous Systems: King Innovation Video - Electrical Components King Innovation in O'Fallon, MO is a manufacturer of waterproof electrical connectors. Baxter is placing tubes into a machine in preparation for silicon filling - helping King run production over 3 shifts and keep up with the demand of their busy season. Rodon Group Video - Plastic Injection Molding The Rodon Group, one of the largest family-owned and operated plastic injection molders in the U.S., has added a Baxter robot to their factory floor in Hatfield, PA. Watch how various Rodon employees view and use Baxter, their robotic manufacturing assistant and co-worker. GENCO Video - Third Party Logistics/Reverse Logistics GENCO envisions using Baxter in the near future to act as a workforce multiplier. “We see Baxter being able to help our teammates do their jobs faster, cheaper and better." -Jeremiah Miele, project engineer at GENCO.

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Vanguard Plastics Corporation - Contract Plastics Manufacturer Vanguard Plastics Corporation is a custom injection molding company based in Southington, CT. Vanguard is using Baxter to take medicine cups off a conveyor, feed them into a bagging machine and then move the bagged cups to the next location. In only six weeks working on this application Baxter had bagged over 800,000 cups. Since implementation, Baxter has bagged millions of cups.

Questions? For more information, or questions about how the Baxter Robot can be an asset to your institution, email Chris Harbert at charbert@rethinkrobotics.com or Reina Ellis at rellis@rethinkrobotics.com.

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