Grants and Projects

Principal Investigator in charge of FORTH research activities related to EU project BIOLOCH.

Co-investigator of the research projects TOURBOT, ODIGOS (DRIVER/GUIDE) and WebFAIR of FORTH.

In charge of the R&D activities pertaining to the sensor-based navigation capabilities of TOURBOT.

Participant in the TMR research network VIRGO and the Greek GGET research network KTISIVIOS.

o EU IST Project BIOLOCH (BIOmimetic structures for LOComotion in the Human body):
The objective of the BIOLOCH project is to understand motion and perception systems of lower animal forms and to design and fabricate mini- and micro-machines inspired by such biological systems. The long term goal of the project is to develop an entirely new generation of autonomous smart machines able to interact with the environment in a life-like way and with performance comparable to those of the animals by which they are inspired. These bio-inspired machines may lead to many useful applications in various fields related to the "inspection" problem: for example in medicine and, in particular, in microendoscopy. The bio-like machines will be not only designed, but also fabricated, according to a biomimetic approach which merges sensing and actuation capabilities, by exploiting hybrid manufacturing techniques, high integration of active materials and sensors, and embedded low level control.

o Project WebFAIR:
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The project WebFAIR (Web Access to Commercial Fairs through Mobile Agents) addresses the marketing and promotion requirements of large commercial exhibitions by providing broad access to information, services and commodities exhibited at the event. Essentially, WebFAIR aims at providing the means to remote corporate and private users for active and personalised workplace exploration and information visualisation for commercial purposes. The goal of the project is the development and validation of an interactive tele-presence system based on mobile robotic systems, able to provide individual access to large exhibitions and commercial trade-fairs over the World-Wide Web. The user observes through the "eyes" (cameras) of the robot and hears though its "ears" (microphones). Through a Web-interface, users all over the world will be able to tele-control the robotic avatar and specify exhibits, or interesting places that they may wish to visit.

o Project TOURBOT:
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The project TOURBOT (Interactive Museum Telepresence through Robotic Avatars) is a collaborative project between several European academic and research institutions, companies and museums. Its goal is the development of a robotic tour-guide for museum visitors, which can also be controlled from remote users and transmit information to them, through the Internet, about the museum exhibits. The robot then acts as the remote user's avatar, i.e. its remote representative in the museum environment. The project is funded through the European Union IST program (Total budget: 1,700,000 Euro, FORTH budget: 750,000 Euro).

o Project ODIGOS (DRIVER/GUIDE):
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The goal of the project ODIGOS is the development of a robotic wheelchair for people with special needs, which will have some autonomous navigation capabilities that will make driving it easier for its users. The project is funded through the program Persons-with-Special-Needs (AMEA) of the Greek Ministry of Development (FORTH budget: 100,000 Euro). For MPEG movies of the robotic wheelchair's person-following navigation behavior click here or here.

o VIRGO Research Network:

VIRGO is a research network on "Vision-based Robot Navigation", linking several European research institutions and universities. It is funded through the European Union's TMR program.
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Last update: June 20, 2000.