NSF and federal partners award $37M to advance nation's co-robots

aarondubrow writes: Today, NSF, in partnership with DOD, NASA, NSF, NIH and USDA, announced $37 million in new awards to spur the development and use of co-robots, robots that work cooperatively with people. From unmanned vehicles that can inspect and fix ailing infrastructure to co-robots that can collaborate with workers on manufacturing tasks, scientists and engineers are developing the next generation of robots that can handle critical tasks in close proximity to humans, providing for unprecedented safety and resilience. This year, the initiative funded 66 new research proposals to 49 distinct institutions in 27 states.