Cooperative Videobots

Robots have been instrumental in helping scientists tackle the BP Gulf oil spill. They’re not only used to monitor oil and chemicals in the water, but they’ve been important tools in the physical efforts to cap the gushing oil. Using robots to help in emergencies is an emerging field. As part of IEEE Spectrum Magazine and the National Science Foundation’s series “Engineers of the New Millennium,” Lisa Raffensperger reports on a lab in Minnesota that creates search and rescue robots, including the rough and ready Scout.