The University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University have joined forces with AI tech giant NVIDIA to form an “AI Tech Community,” the first of its kind in the United States.
“This is a new research model,” says Rob A. Rutenbar, Pitt’s Senior Vice Chancellor for Research. “NVIDIA saw Pittsburgh as a unique opportunity to combine Pitt’s expertise in using AI for medical applications and education with Carnegie Mellon’s expertise in core AI and next- generation robotics.”
The first project supported within the AI Tech Community is being done at the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), a joint venture between Pitt’s School of Medicine and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs led by founder and director, Rory Cooper.
“We are refining the development of a semi- autonomous robotic wheelchair with integrated robotic arm, known as RAMMP, that can negotiate different terrain and manipulate everyday objects,” explains Cooper, who is also a distinguished professor in the School of Medicine. “We are creating a virtual twin that models the RAMMP within various environments, which includes integrating real world data. By simulating the RAMMP and the environment, we can apply the results to advance and accelerate how the system functions in the real world.”
“This project is part of AI for good. The technology will help people who need assistance to function with greater autonomy in their lives. It’s robotics for the real world.”
NVIDIA provides human and computing resources that are helping HERL work faster and in greater detail than previously possible. The digital twin of the RAMMP, created with assistance from NVIDIA, reacts and behaves like the real system in a simulated environment rich with real-world data. NVIDIA has also provided processors used within the RAMMP system.
“This project is part of AI for good,” says Cooper. “The technology will help people who need assistance to function with greater autonomy in their lives. It’s robotics for the real world.”