The Robotics Project

Creating an archive for the past, present,
and future of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University

• Robotics Archive
• Work With Us
• Events & Exhibitions
• Team

Overview

The history of Carnegie Mellon University and robotics are inexorably intertwined. In 1979, the university forged a partnership with the Westinghouse Electric Corporation and procured a five-year financial commitment from the Office of Naval Research to create the first department of robotics in the United States. The Robotics Institute’s mission was to bring together the top scientific minds to solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges through robotics.

The Robotics Project, launched in 2019, is a partnership between the University Libraries and the School of Computer Science to create a home for robotics's past, present, and future. Our intent is to capture a wide breadth of stories about the research, impact, and experiences of the robotics community across the university and around the world, creating a global destination for scholars and students thinking about the history of robotics. We preserve the collections in the University Archives and share them through educational and public programming.

Working in consultation with leading archives and museums, we’re rethinking how archivists collect and preserve robotics and creating a community of practice for information professionals who work with technology-driven material.

Leading the Way
Since its inception, the Robotics Institute has been leading the way in autonomous vehicle research and space exploration robotics.

In recognition of Carnegie Mellon's growing legacy of robotics and the formidable challenges involved in preserving these collections, The Robotics Project investigates the research ecosystem of robotics, creates a model for preservation, and documents the field's history, such as:

• The Robotics Institute Photograph and Video Collections: Documenting the vast history of RI, these photos and videos document projects starting in the earliest days of the Institute.
• Pearl: Part of the Nursebot project–a joint effort by multiple universities, including CMU, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Michigan–Pearl and its predecessor Florence were designed to assist patients in their lives. Pearl was tested in a local Pittsburgh nursing home, leading residents to appointments and capable of voicing reminders to take medicine, among other tasks.
• Soft Robot Arm: The pieces seen by director Don Hall in the soft robotics group at CMU helped inspire the design of Baymax, the hero of the film Big Hero 6. The arms are part of the Christopher G. Atkeson Collection.
• Sensors: Pieces of lidar and radar equipment used most often with mobile robots, including the ERIM sensor that helped Terregator and Navlab I, two of the earliest autonomous robots at CMU, find their way.
• Papers: Materials from roboticists such as Takeo Kanade and Hans Moravec.

In the first phase of the project, funded by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, CMU archivists consulted with roboticists, archives professionals, and digital and physical conservators to create a model for collecting and preserving complex robotics material, which we shared through a toolkit.

As we move into the next phase of The Robotics Project, we will implement our findings and practices into future collections.

Accessing the Robotics Archive

The Robotics Archive is part of the Carnegie Mellon University Archives and contains artifacts — including more than 100 examples of robots, prototypes, and parts — and material such as videos, images, code, proposals, emails, websites, and more.

To access the collections, contact an archivist or browse our online inventories. The collections are open to the public for research. Some of our collections are stored off-campus and require advance notice for access. In general, we recommend contacting us 48 hours before your visit to allow time for transportation. We have a growing Digital Robotics Archive with material available online. Visit our website to explore the collections.

Digital Robotics Archive

Work With Us

Do you have pieces of robotics history? We want to help you preserve them. The Robotics Project team is actively collecting new material. If you have photographs, videos, other media, hardware, software, or even decommissioned robots, please contact Kathleen Donahoe, Interim Lead Archivist, at kdonahoe@andrew.cmu.edu.

We are also interested in reports, emails and other communications, websites, and other forms of documentation for:

• Labs, Teams, and Centers
• Faculty
• Staff
• Administration
• Educational and Entrepreneurial Activities

If you have questions about adding your materials to the Robotics Archive, please contact us for a consultation with an archivist.

Events & Exhibitions

Donate

It is through the remarkable generosity of our supporters that we are able to embark on this incredible journey to build a Robotics Archive at Carnegie Mellon University. Please consider supporting our work by making a donation to the Robot Archive Fund, dedicated to supporting the needs of this project.

Donate

For more information, or to inquire about specific giving opportunities, please contact Jennifer Sciullo, Assistant Director of Development.

The Robotics Project Team

For questions about the project, donating materials, or getting involved, please contact the archivists on our team.