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NREC News Stories

The latest news from the National Robotics Engineering Center

2022

National Robotics Engineering Center Awarded Research Grant with Office of Naval Research

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has selected the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) to begin work on DoD Explosive Ordnance Disposal S&T Large Area Clearance Experiment (LACEx) under Ocean Engineering and Marine Systems.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Visits NREC for MatSinking Project Update and Armor 1 Build

Sponsors and team members traveled to the National Robotics Engineering Center in Pittsburgh for a site visit highlighting the Armor 1 Mat Sinking Unit.

Pushing Limits of Off-Road Autonomy in DARPA's RACER Program

A team from Carnegie Mellon University and University of Rochester is among three participating in the first phase of DARPA’s Robotic Autonomy in Complex Environments with Resiliency (RACER) program.

Summer Training with CMRA

Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy Summer 2022 Teacher Training comes to a close after 11 classes over 7 weeks at the National Robotics Engineering Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Summer Internships at NREC

Young professionals arrive for summer internships at the National Robotics Engineering Center in Lawrenceville.

Night at NREC

Students in the Master of Science in Robotic Systems Development (MRSD) program at Carnegie Mellon University spent an evening at the National Robotics Engineering Center in Lawrenceville.

Kickstarting Collaboration with Korea Electronics Technology Institute

Carnegie Mellon University recognized the formal beginning of a long-term relationship with KETI through the National Robotics Engineering Center.

NREC Celebrates National Engineers Week

The National Robotics Engineering Center observed Engineers Week by celebrating individuals, internal projects, and the collective spirit of engineering ingenuity.

2019

Friday, September 06, 2019

NSF Funds Research on a New Genre of Co-Robotic Games

A new research collaboration will create games where students play alongside teammates they’ve programmed themselves.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) and Airbus Americas fund NREC to Develop a Vision-Based Robotic Solution to Improve Surface Cleaning Operations in the Aerospace Industry.

NREC will develop a modular, vision-based robotic surface treatment system capable of performing tasks in confined spaces. The technology potentially removes the human from a physically demanding and unsafe environment, improving the workplace and reducing the possibility of injury.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Mississippi River Commission Visits NREC

Delegates from the Mississippi River Commission (MRC), including Maj. Gen. Richard G. Kaiser, Maj. Gen. Mark Toy, Mr. Sam Angel, and Mr. James Reeder traveled to Pittsburgh to see firsthand the prototype of the largest robot ever built at NREC.
Friday, March 22, 2019

NREC’s Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy (CMRA) partners with South Korea’s Sol Academy to teach STEM and computational thinking to students ages 10 to16.

The National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) of Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has signed an agreement with South Korea’s Sol Academy enabling the academy to offer Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy (CMRA) curricula and certifications through CMU’s CS-STEM Network.
Friday, February 15, 2019

Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) partners with Carnegie Mellon University’s NREC and CMRA to grow a skilled, technical workforce.

This Smart Manufacturing and Advanced Robotics Training (SMART) program will leverage the CS-STEM Network (CS2N) and update existing pre-apprenticeship community-college level certification and associate degree programs to address the evolving needs of ARM industry members.
Friday, February 01, 2019

Carnegie Mellon Hosts Activation of U.S. Army AI Task Force

The United States Army is activating its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Task Force at the birthplace of AI itself: Carnegie Mellon University. The activation, which will take place on February 1 at Carnegie Mellon's National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC), augments the Army's long-standing commitment to modernization and future technology, while also strengthening its ties to fundamental research in academia.
Friday, January 25, 2019

NREC Developing Innovative Lightweight, Long-Reach, Reconfigurable Manipulator for Airbus

NREC is working with Airbus to tackle two common constraints in creating robotic manipulator technology: working in confined spaces and inefficient singular task training for robots. This newest collaborative team has been working to develop a solution to these constraints by using flexible, low-cost, modular, robotic manipulators that can be used in a variety of constrained manufacturing operations. Within the airline industry, this solution will prove helpful with tasks such as the inspection of aircraft fuel tanks during manufacturing and accessing other areas of the aircraft where space is limited.

2018

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Army AI Task Force Selects Carnegie Mellon as New Hub

Carnegie Mellon University has been selected as the hub of the United States Army's AI Task Force launched earlier this fall. The launch of the Task Force allows the Army to better connect with the broader artificial intelligence (AI) community as they focus their efforts in this constantly changing field. As the charter location for this national effort, the center based at Carnegie Mellon’s National Robotics Engineering Center will engage universities and companies from across the nation and tap into the vibrant robotics and AI community in Pittsburgh.
Wednesday, November 28, 2018

PopSci Recognizes Wheel-Track With "Best of What's New" Award

DARPA’s Ground X-Vehicle Technologies (GXV-T) program aims to improve mobility, survivability, safety, and effectiveness of future combat vehicles without piling on armor. Demonstrations, such as one in May at Aberdeen Test Center, have given potential military service transition partners an opportunity to observe technical progress on the GXV-T program.
Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Honeywell, Carnegie Mellon University To Develop Advanced Supply Chain Robotics And AI Solutions For Connected Distribution Centers

Honeywell announces an initiative with Carnegie Mellon University to develop advanced supply chain robotics and AI solutions for connected distribution centers. Collaboration focuses on next-generation machine learning and robotic controls to help distribution centers address rising e-commerce demands and resource challenges.
Tuesday, July 10, 2018

DARPA's Ground X-Vehicle Technologies (GXV-T)

DARPA’s Ground X-Vehicle Technologies (GXV-T) program aims to improve mobility, survivability, safety, and effectiveness of future combat vehicles without piling on armor. Demonstrations, such as one in May at Aberdeen Test Center, have given potential military service transition partners an opportunity to observe technical progress on the GXV-T program.
Thursday, February 22, 2018

House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer and Congressman Mike Doyle tour NREC

This past Saturday, House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer and Congressman Mike Doyle visited the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) as part of the second Make It In America Listening Tour.
Wednesday, January 10, 2018

NREC transitioning DARPA off-road autonomy to support the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) Autonomous Ground Resupply Mission

NREC, which recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary, has a long history of providing cutting edge autonomous solutions to the Department of Defense.

2017

Monday, December 11, 2017

Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Academy completed its 14th year of summer teacher training in 2017.

Over 120 teachers attended seven one-week sessions at The National Robotics Engineering Center and another 100 teachers participated in the online courses.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017

NREC Continues Robotic Prototyping Efforts to Support Mississippi River Navigation

NREC has been awarded a contract to continue efforts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to modernize the mat sinking operations that occur on the Mississippi River.
Monday, October 23, 2017

The Minister of Education of Thailand visits NREC

Dr. Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, Minister of Education of Thailand, visited NREC earlier this week to learn about the latest robotics and educational technologies.
Thursday, August 24, 2017

NREC Hosts 70 Construction Leaders to Demonstrate Robotic Technologies for Project Execution

NREC welcomed 70 leaders of the construction industry to highlight assistive robotic technologies and their potential to improve key areas of project execution.
Friday, June 16, 2017

NREC signs agreement with Harsco to improve customer yield

The National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) signed a research agreement with Harsco Corporation to develop ruggedized sensors to measure steel makers Iron (Fe) yield at various points during their steel making process.
Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Ambassadors from 34 countries visit NREC

The National Robotics Engineering Center on May 23 hosted ambassadors hailing from over 34 countries.
Wednesday, April 05, 2017

NREC awarded Pipeline Profiler project

NREC is helping Anglo American Copper Chile decrease potential downtime while continuing to protect the environment.
Wednesday, March 01, 2017

Industry Day 2017

On Saturday, April 22, 2017, beginning at 1 p.m., NREC will open its doors for our second Industry Day event.
Friday, February 10, 2017

NREC initiates robotic prototyping to support Mississippi River navigation

NREC has begun working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to modernize the mat sinking operations that occur on the Mississippi River.
Monday, February 13, 2017

Night at NREC 2017

NREC will open our doors to robotics enthusiasts for an event called the NIGHT AT NREC.
Friday, January 13, 2017

CHIMP technology enables MHI/Waseda’s legged robot to be more intelligent

NREC continues their groundbreaking humanoid robotics research with a recent collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, LTD (MHI).
Wednesday, January 04, 2017

NREC to host the ARM Institute

The U.S. Department of Defense has selected the Advanced Robotics Manufacturing (ARM) Institute for the Robots in Manufacturing Environments Manufacturing Innovation Institute (RIME-MII) initiative.

2016

Monday, October 10, 2016

60 Minutes visits NREC

NREC was visited in the spring by Charlie Rose of CBS News to record a segment on artificial intelligence that would be featured on an episode of 60 Minutes.
Friday, March 11, 2016

NREC developing cockpit automation system for DARPA’s Ground X-Vehicle Technologies (GXV-T) program

NREC is developing an Off-road Crew Augmentation System that would allow crewmembers to operate the next generation of military ground vehicles to their maximum capabilities.
Friday, March 25, 2016

NREC contributes to DARPA Autonomous Anti-Submarine Vessel

The Sea Hunter is designed to autonomously cruise the seas with minimal supervision from a remote operator while hunting and tracking submarines over long distances and extended periods of time.
Friday, February 19, 2016

Tour our Facility, Meet our Engineers and see Demos 

NREC will open their doors to Robotics enthusiasts for an event called the NIGHT AT NREC.
Monday, September 12, 2016

The National Robotics Engineering Center celebrates its 20th Anniversary

On July 1, 1996, the National Robotics Engineer started operating in a newly renovated building that was part of Pittsburgh steel manufacturing history. Twenty years later, the impact on Pittsburgh and Lawrenceville is noticeable.
Friday, February 12, 2016

NREC to host Industry Day on April 9

The National Robotics Engineering Center is home to the world’s leading robotics experts, conducting applied research and development on innovative robotic programs.
Friday, November 11, 2016

NREC hosts United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

The Deputy Secretary of Defense Mr. Robert O. Work and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mr. Stephen P. Welby visited NREC on June 9, 2016 to better understand “breakthrough” ideas that can have a transformative impact on U.S. defense operations.
Friday, September 30, 2016

NREC computer network compromise investigated

The National Robotics Engineering Center obtained information shortly before Labor Day suggesting that its computer network had been compromised.
Friday, January 22, 2016

Carnegie Mellon, Sikorsky Aircraft use collaborating autonomous systems to demonstrate new technological capabilities for keeping warfighters safe

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Sikorsky Aircraft recently participated in a joint autonomy demonstration

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