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Media Advisory 05-021

Robotics Researchers Return to Examine Katrina Devastation With Small Unmanned Helicopters

Journalists are invited to join the study team from Dec. 2 to Dec. 4

The Like90 unmanned aerial vehicle that SSRRC team members will use in Miss.

The Like90 unmanned aerial vehicle that SSRRC team members will use in Miss.


November 22, 2005

This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.

Building upon an earlier search mission using helicopter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), engineering researchers from the University of South Florida (USF) are returning on Nov. 28 to the Mississippi Gulf Coast with their small, radio-controlled aircraft.

The researchers are accepting requests from accredited reporters who wish to join the team to examine damage to multi-story structures still vacant after Hurricane Katrina and to develop new techniques for using UAVs. The researchers will also be testing new optic and range sensors that may help the helicopters operate in the dark.

Robin Murphy, director of the USF Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR), will lead the team and coordinate media participation. Members of the media may embed with the CRASAR team from Dec. 2 through Dec. 4, although the team will stay only as long as necessary to complete their mission. B-roll is available from USF.

The research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in partnership with Jackson State University's National Center for Biodefense Communications and NSF's Safety Security Rescue Research Center, an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center.

Details of the mission, including visuals from the first search effort, can be found in the university press release linked below.

-NSF-

Media Contacts
Joshua A. Chamot, NSF, (703) 292-7730, email: jchamot@nsf.gov
Randolph Fillmore, University of South Florida, (813) 974-8476, email: Rfillmor@admin.usf.edu

Program Contacts
Rita V. Rodriguez, NSF, (703) 292-8950, email: rrodrigu@nsf.gov
Alex Schwarzkopf, NSF, (703) 292-5359, email: aschwarz@nsf.gov

Principal Investigators
Robin Murphy, University of South Florida, SSRRC, CRASAR, (813) 974-4756, email: murphy@cse.usf.edu

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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