Safety Security Rescue Research Center
(SSR-RC)

University of Minnesota (lead)
University of Pennsylvania
University of Denver

Saving Lives and Strengthening the Nation.

Center Mission and Rationale

This multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Safety, Security and Rescue Research brings together industry, academe, and public sector users together to provide integrative robotics and artificial intelligence solutions in robotics for activities conducted by the police, FBI, FEMA, firefighting, transportation safety, and emergency response to mass casuality-related activities. The need for safety, security, and rescue technologies has accelerated in the aftermath of 9/11 and a new research community has been formed. The Center's mission is evident in a joint project with the Department of Homeland Security for monitoring Mass Transit sites. The Center is built upon the knowledge and expertise of multi-disciplinary researchers in computer science, engineering, industrial organization, psychology, and public health.

Research Program

Research activities within the center include:

• Proactive Technologies: Airport security automation, biomimetic identification, port security, sensor and robot networks, CBRNE detection.
• Emergency Response: Search, rescue, extrication, hazmat, incident command, medical interventions, rapid sampling, plume tracking, hazard monitoring, information technology.
• Components: Platforms, sensors, control, communicartions, power, user interfaces, reachback and visualization of data.
• Systems Integration: Software engineering methods, human-robot integration, distributed robot/sensor teams, metrics and standards, insertion of technology into workplace.
• Training and Education: Integration and reduction of training, distance learning, simulations, and interactive training.

Special Center Activies

The Center organizes an annual Robotics/Tech Camp for middle-schoolers from underrepresented groups the third week in August. In 2008, more than 25 kids attended. The objective is to use the robots and algorithms developed as part of this Center's efforts to attract kids to science and engineering. The Center covers all the costs including transportation and lunch. The Scout robot (from the University of Minnesota) has been deployed by the U.S. Army in Iraq and Afghanistan in order to save lives from improvised explosive devices.

Facilities and Laboratories

Description of the Center's facilities and equipment is available at http://www.ssrrc.dtc.umn.edu, http://distrob.cs.umn.edu, and http://mha.cs.umn.edu.

Center Location(s)

Headquarters

University of Minnesota
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
5-201 EE/CS Bldg
200 Union Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Center Director: Dr. Nikos Papanikolopoulos

URL: http://www.ssrrc.dtc.umn.edu/ and http://wiki.grasp.upenn.edu/~graspdoc/IUCRC/Home

Corresondence and questions about this center should be directed to:
npapas@cs.umn.edu

Associate Directors:

Dr. Vijay Kumar, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Richard Voyles, University of Denver

Center Evaluator
Vida Scarpello