After my last class today a friend and I were wandering around the ICCS after hearing that our CPSC 110 exams had been marked and that we could pick them up in room #????. Neither of us remembered the room number so we spent some time walking around, and finally gave up on getting our exams. Just as we were about to head back I saw one of those “really cool rooms” at the end of a hallway that I immediately wanted to show my friend. I dragged my friend down the hallway to look at it. While we were staring down through the large glass window, two people came out and asked us if we wanted to take a look at the lab. It was awesome! Inside there were quite a lot of people working on computers and about the same amount of large robots. We got to meet a couple of graduate students who told us about their research as well as a couple of robots named “Betty, Roger, PR2” and possibly Daisy (I really can’t remember the names properly…tough week). According to the researchers one of the robots can catch balls which I think is amazing! I want a robot that can play catch! Also they introduced us to the PR2. It had arrived a little while ago and they had just started having fun with it (teaching it how to dance e.t.c.). This robot can play pool, and can even bring you beer! .

Soooo, if anyone wants a really cool tour I’d recommend that you hang out in the ICCS, just past the DEMCO learning centre. Also, if you are interested you can sign up to become a research participant for a Human-Robot interaction study by emailing calisgan@interchange.ubc.ca , more information is posted on their door.