Dr. Bonnie Dorr Cited for High Honor
Published 12.5.16
Dr. Bonnie Dorr, associate director and senior research scientist at the Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC), has been named a fellow of the Association for Computational Linguists (ACL). She is one of four people to be named to this year’s class of ACL fellows. The honor is in recognition of Dorr’s contributions to the field of computational linguistics.
“Bonnie’s work over the years has certainly earned her this well-deserved recognition,” said Ken Ford, the founder and chief executive of IHMC. “She is an exceptional scientist and colleague who has contributed greatly to the advancement of computational linguists.”
In naming Dorr one of its 2016 fellows, ACL specifically highlighted her “significant contributions to machine translation, summarization and human evaluation.” Dorr’s research spans several areas of broad-scale multilingual processing, including machine translation, summarization, and cross-language information retrieval.
Dorr, a professor emeritus of computer science, leads a team of scientists and researchers at IHMC’s Ocala facility. Dorr is the former associate dean of the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland. She co-founded the Computational Linguistics and Information Processing Laboratory at Maryland, and served as its co-director for 15 years.
In 2008, she was named president of the ACL. Additionally, she is a Sloan Fellow, an Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence’s (AAAI) Fellow, and a National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty (PECASE) Fellow. Established in 2011, the ACL Fellows program recognizes ACL members whose contributions to the field have been most extraordinary.
The Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC) is one of the nation’s premier research organizations with world-class scientists and engineers investigating a broad range of topics related to building technological systems aimed at amplifying and extending human cognitive, perceptual, and physical capacities. IHMC headquarters are in Pensacola, Florida, with a branch research facility in Ocala, Florida.
Mission Day 11: Orbicella faveolata, where art thou?
Published 8.5.16
A 4 hour tour…a 4 hour tour.
Once we completed our training Extravehicular Activity (EVA) dives for 1 and 2 hours a piece, it was time to complete a full 4 hour EVA. Megan and I were the first team up on Mission Day 11.
After we suited up, completed safety, staged out from the habitat and weighted ourselves out for partial gravity, we picked up the pre-stages sled packed with presampling tools, including the PAM fluorometer, temporary tags, the iDive iPad for identification and cue cards that the crew can use for information, and a tool kit stuff with smaller EVA tools. One of us is also carrying a Shark Marine navigator to guide us to the target site.
The goal: look for three specific types of coral in one of the ‘deep’ zones, ranging 80-95 FSW in depth. Pulling out sled behind us, we walked down the sandy slopes, past instruments and towering structures left from missions past, turned into artificial reef systems around the habitat. One of the most important things we have to pay attention to on our dives are where our umbilicals are in the water.
For this mission, we had up to 600 feet of umbilical, which include our air supply, comms, and pneumometer for gauging depth, running back to the habitat that we could work with, which can be an absolute snake best if not properly managed! We had to keep them from wrapping around coral, ourselves, and each other. THANKFULLY, our hard hat safety diver and one of the Aquarius Reef Base habitat technicians, Sean Moore, helped us manage them out to a certain point. After that, we had support divers in the water with Subgravity scooters keeping an eye on where the umbilicals ran as we went deeper. As I mentioned before, it definitely takes an experienced and hard-working village to do these missions safely!
The traverse to the deep reef takes approximately 5 minutes, then we set the sled in a secure location and get to work searching for Orbicella faveolata, Agaricites humilis, and Agaricites agaricia. While some coral species were very easy to locate, others are not as prevalent in certain designated zones or depth ranges. We searched until we ran out of temporary tags, identifying 22 species for potential sampling! For each tagged coral, we then take photos and PAM readings for the science team to review. We read all of this information back to IV (the person running the show from inside the habitat), which is then relayed back to the science team via time-delayed messages and a data sheet. They will give feedback for our next EVA in which of the species they want us to sample. Ultimately, these procedures are all being evaluated as NASA moves towards planetary exploration missions, where boots on the ground will need to be able to relay science and exploration back to the appropriate support teams and Mission Control for decision making and data management.
When we wrapped up the presampling phase, we picked up the sled and walked back up the sandy slope towards the habitat, cutting left to the Mercury coral tree nursery that was built in collaboration with the Coral Restoration Foundation during the first half of the mission. We collected PAM readings from the samples there before heading back to the habitat, with the IV and Science Team calling it a successful day!
Compared to regular SCUBA, the hard hat system is amazing because of the real-time comms and continuous gas supply. The partial gravity weighting, plus the weight of the helmet, require strength and stamina throughout the dive – by the end of the executions, we can all definitely feel the physical and mental fatigue setting in – and a craving for pizza starts to kick in, too! IV is continuously asking us to rate our discomfort and perceived exertion (on a predefined scale) for feedback to Mission Control and as part of a study being conducted by NASA.
On Mission Day 12, I get to run IV communication – a little nervous while very excited to give it a go! Details to follow in be MD 12 blog!
IHMC Robotics team heads to historic competition
Published 9.10.15
The robotics team from the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) leaves this weekend for what promises to be a historic milestone in the science of making machines move and think like humans.
The DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals, to be held June 5-6 in Pomona, Calif., is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It will test 25 teams from around the world in a challenge course designed to emulate a disaster area where humans could not safely go. IHMC’s team will be using the 6-foot-tall Atlas robot, built by Boston Dynamics but with the all-important controlling software designed by IHMC researchers.
The winning team will bring home $2 million from DARPA, which will go to further robotics research. The second-place team will win $1 million.
“It’s been a lot of non-stop work, but we’re ready to go,” said Doug Stephen, one of the computer scientists on the project for IHMC.
For years, movies and television shows have portrayed bipedal robots as virtually flawless, fast-moving, self-thinking units. But the reality has lagged far behind that characterization. The DARPA Robotics Challenge was designed to push the science and engineering to the next level. And in recent weeks, IHMC’s Atlas, nicknamed “Running Man,” has stepped up to the occasion, performing well on the tasks it will face in the finals, including driving a car, walking over a debris field, opening doors, cutting a hole in a wall, turning a valve for a fire hose and climbing stairs.
The finals require the robots to think for themselves to a large degree and perform the eight tasks in 60 minutes or less — on battery power, without a safety line, and with limited communications with their handlers. This week, IHMC’s machine finished the practice course well within the time frame.
“I am unconditionally proud of our robotics team and hope that the robot fates smile upon them in Pomona,” said IHMC CEO/Director Ken Ford. “They are a terrific group of young engineers and computer scientists.”
In the first two rounds of the Robotics Challenge in 2013, IHMC placed first in the virtual (computer simulation) trials, and second in the field trials, thanks in large part to the advanced computer software IHMC developed, organizers said. Other teams in next week’s finals come from some of the most advanced robotics programs in the country, including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lockheed Martin, and Carnegie Mellon University, as well as several teams from Japan, South Korea, China and Germany.
IHMC robotics staff members are planning to spend most of Thursday and Friday packing Atlas, the Polaris four-wheeled vehicle it will drive, and almost a ton of support and computer equipment for shipment by FedEx to California. The truck and most team members leave Saturday morning.
A video of Wednesday’s final practice run at the IHMC Robotics Lab in Pensacola can be seen here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCPiNOwh2is. Photos of the Atlas robot and the research team are attached to this email. IHMC also hopes to provide a news release Saturday night, June 6, after the results of the finals are announced.
For more information, contact Will Rabb, IHMC communications coordinator, at 850-512-4327 or email atwrabb@ihmc.us. DARPA updates on the competition can be found at http://www.theroboticschallenge.org.
NASA Asteroid Redirect Mission App
Published 9.10.15
NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission iPad App has been released and is available for free download at the iTunes Store. The creation of this novel App was a joint effort between NASA and IHMC. The App is a large knowledge model that uses dozens of concept maps to organize and navigate through hundreds of videos, images and Web links on NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission. Each of the concept maps represents the knowledge of experts on the particular topic.
All concept maps in this app were constructed using the IHMC CmapTools software which is available free for download.
Check our web page, download and experience the App, and then go give us a great review. 5 star reviews are warranted and appreciated!
http://cmap.ihmc.us/armapp/
IHMC Moves Ahead with Pensacola Expansion
Published 9.4.15
The Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition is back on track with a planned expansion of its Pensacola research facility following a nearly year-long delay caused by flooding of downtown in April 2014.
Completion is scheduled for February 2016. The contractor is Hewes and Company LLC, a Pensacola firm. Hewes has done extensive work across the Pensacola area, including large buildings for Pensacola Christian College, Avalex Technologies and AppRiver.
“We’re really pleased to be back on track with the new building,” said IHMC Director and CEO Ken Ford. “The delay was troublesome, but the architects were able to develop some really good, workable solutions. We’re eager now to get this building built and keep growing in Pensacola.”
In response to the flooding, the first floor of the new building was redesigned to raise it by one foot, to an elevation of 13 feet above sea level, and all structural materials were reviewed to ensure that they are water-resistant. Meanwhile, flood damage to the existing building has been repaired, but a planned expansion of that facility remains on hold.
The three-story, 30,000-square-foot building will substantially increase IHMC’s Pensacola footprint, allowing consolidation of research and administrative functions at the main campus at 40 S. Alcaniz Street in the Seville Historic District, and allow for future growth. IHMC’s operations are currently spread over four separate sites in downtown.
The $8 million expansion is being funded with a loan secured through Escambia County. IHMC is solely responsible for repayment of the loan.
The new building will face Romana Street and be located behind the current facility on land IHMC owns between Alcaniz and Florida Blanca streets. The building’s facade will be reminiscent of the old brick warehouses that used to dominate the area while serving the Port of Pensacola.
Lead architect Carter Quina, AIA, of Quina Grundhoefer Architects in Pensacola, said the appearance of the redesigned building remains virtually the same as before, while providing more security against potential future flooding. It retains its “fit” with the nearby historic neighborhoods.
“We worked hard to give it a look that fits in with the Historic District, and that remains,” Quina said. “The interior is high-tech, but the exterior reflects its location in what the city designated as the Brick Warehouse District, and the use of brick, steel and concrete, all historical materials used in the area, gives it that feel. We’re also adding glass to allow natural daylight inside and to make the interior accessible to the public.”
He said the new building features design and technology that “maintain all of our sustainability goals,” including the extensive use of natural daylight, LED lighting that adjusts to the daylight, extensive soundproofing for the labs, durable materials, and a powerful lab hoist designed with input from the scientists who will be using it.
The building was also designed to foster the use of stairs instead of elevators, cutting energy use and helping employees stay fit.
The first floor of the new building will largely consist of research labs, including an expanded Robotics Lab and a multi-sensory interfaces lab focused on sensory displays and human-machine interfaces, and a street-front lobby/exhibit space demonstrating the work at IHMC.
The second floor will feature a glass-walled observation area for public tour groups and others to observe the Robotics Lab safely and without interfering with the work. The lab is a popular tour destination for schools and other visitors.
The third floor will hold additional offices, conference rooms and research space.
Discovery Channel To Feature IHMC Exoskeleton
Published 9.2.15
An upcoming segment of The Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet program will feature a new exercise exoskeleton developed by researchers at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC) in Pensacola.
Called the Grasshopper, or Hopper, the device was designed, built and tested as part of a NASA-funded project exploring the use of robotic exoskeletons for microgravity exercise. Because the Hopper uses motors instead of gravity to create the load on the user, the device is suited for use on space missions. Exercise in zero-gravity conditions is critical to maintain muscle strength and bone mass.
The Hopper is designed to replicate the effect of squat exercise with free weights, and its associated loading on the body. To test this claim, the Hopper was brought to EXOS, a leader in integrated performance training, nutrition and physical therapy for professional and elite athletes, the military and innovative corporations. EXOS has a center in Gulf Breeze, Fla., near IHMC.
The IHMC team is led by Senior Research Scientist Peter Neuhaus. Members include Research Associate Nick Payton and student interns Travis Craig and Jeremy Gines.
Noraxon, a company specializing in evidence-based biomechanics, provided sensors and technical analysis to compare exercise using the Hopper versus use of free weights.
The Daily Planet segment was filmed at IHMC and the EXOS center. The show’s host, Lucas Cochran, was instrumented with the Noraxon sensors and coached by an EXOS specialist on how to properly perform the squat motion, both with free weights and while strapped into the Hopper. The data showed that his muscles and heart responded in very similar fashion while using either the Hopper or the free weights. In addition, Cochran reported that the Hopper was more comfortable than free weights for a similar weight.
The Daily Planet segment will air late October 2014.
For more information about the Hopper go to: http://robots.ihmc.us/grasshopper
To see a video of the Hopper, go to http://youtu.be/Akz5K4BXfAg
