Faculty: David Miller

faculty-staff.ou.edu/M/David.P.Miller-1/

Bio

David Miller is the Wilkonson Chair/Professor of Intelligent Systems in the School of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering and theSchool of Computer Science at the University of Oklahoma as well as the Chief Technical Officer KISS Institute for Practical Robotics

David Miller is a master roboticist who designs, builds and experiments with robots. He is a multidisciplinary educator who teaches at the university of Oklahoma and the KISS institute’s High School Botball Program. He is the organizer for AAAI's Robot Building Labs and also teaches at the International Space University Summer Sessions. His creations have been all over the globe, under water and even on other planets

Here are a few robots he has built :

  • FANG

    an indoor software testbed for a Mars rover prototype

  • Robby

    a big outdoor Mars rover prototype

  • Tooth

    NASA's first micro-rover prototype

  • Rocky

    A series of prototype Mars Micro-rovers

  • Scarecrow

    the only transistor free robot ever to compete in an artificial intelligence contest

  • Tin Man

    A series of robotic wheelchairs

  • DRIP

    a supercheap AUV

  • BYO-bot

    an inexpensive educational robot/kit

Current Projects

My research concentrates in two main areas: robotics technology and robotics as a mechanism for technology education. Robots are systems and, I beleive, can often best be done with a systems approach. Integration of the mechanics with the control and planning is important for getting the most performance out of a system. My particular areas of application are in planetary robotics and assistive robotic systems.

My current research is primarily focused on long duration autonomous rovers for exploring the Moon and Mars. The picture to the right is of SR2, a robot designed and built at OU for Malin Space Sciences Inc. We ran this robot in a California desert where it was able to navigate on its own and complete a traverse of more than a kilometer in a day using solar power. It found its way between rocks, up and down ridges, etc using its onboard sensors and navigation software. More details on SR2 and other research projects can be found by looking at the papers hyperlinked from my CV.

Another of my interests is in engineering outreach. I believe that robotics is a good way to interest young people in science and engineering. Towards that end, I have some projects with KISS Institute for Practical Robotics, a not for profit company that runs the Botball program, and other technology outreach programs for students of all ages. If you are college aged or beyond, you should consider entering the Beyond Botball competition. Many schools, including OU, use this contest as part of their robotics curriculum. It is great to see all the different approaches people have taken when they meet at the international competition in July.

Along with several other OU faculty members, I'm trying to put together the Sooner Lunar Schooner mission -- an alumni funded Oklahoma robotic mission to the Moon. Before you laugh, keep in mind that such a mission would cost about the same amount, or maybe even a little less than the recent upgrades to OU's Memorial Stadium; OU's staff and students encompass virtually the entire skill set needed to do such a mission; and the Oklahoma Space Industry Development Authority is quickly becoming a significant player in the national space scene.

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