CSIRO Robot Responders
[Music plays and a rear view image appears of three children running away from the camera outside]
[Image changes to show the children in the background running towards the camera with three robots in the foreground, and then the image changes to show a young female talking to the camera]
Child 1: The CSIRO National Science Experiment is back.
[Music plays as image changes to show a young female walking a robot ‘dog’ outside]
[Image changes to show a young female talking to the camera with the robot ‘dog’ moving about in the background, and then the camera zooms in closer on the female talking to the camera]
Child 2: This year we're building robot responders.
[Music plays as image changes to show a child playing a robot game on an iPad, and then the image changes to show two children talking and pointing at a robot]
[Image changes to show three children handling a multi-legged robot]
Child 1: Investigate.
[Image changes to show three young females celebrating]
Collaborate.
[Image changes to show hands holding Component Cards above other Component Cards laid out on the table]
Create.
[Music plays as image changes to show a young female drawing a robot, and then the image changes to show a young female smiling while using a hand to rotate a small robot]
[Image changes to show a young male talking to the camera, and then the image changes to show the young male handling cards]
Child 3: Curious minds building robots that help.
[Image changes to show a young female talking to the camera]
Child 2: CSIRO robot responders.
[Music plays as images move through to show a child playing a game on an iPad, rearview of children with arms over each other’s shoulders and a robot ‘dog’ walking along, and children laughing at a robot ‘dog’]
[Image changes to show a blue screen, and text appears: CSIRO, Robot Responders, One challenge. Three missions. Multiple ways to play]
[Image changes to show a white screen with the CSIRO logo, and text appears: Australia’s National Science Agency]
How to get started
[An image appears of a white screen with heading text above a text box, and text appears: CSIRO, Robot Responders, Our new national science experiment to spark curious minds this National Science Week!]
Voiceover: Join CSIRO Robot Responders, our new national science experiment for National Science Week.
[Image changes to show photos of children with robots cover a map of Australia, then image changes to show robot parts assembling below a pointer making a selection from the camera options above, and text appears: Camera Light, Thermal Camera, Humanoid Head, Stereo Vision, Greyscale Camera]
Young people across Australia can step into the role of a robotics engineer, designing robots to help tackle challenges in environments too dangerous or difficult for humans.
[Image changes to show photos of a range of different robots in circles around a larger circle photo of a male and a young male looking at a robot, and text appears: Robotics Expert]
Guided by CSIRO robotics experts, participants will discover how robotics is used to solve real world problems.
[Image changes to show the assembled robot on the right facing the right and then jumping around to face the left beside a heading text box on the left, and text appears: How to participate in CSIRO Robot Responders]
Getting involved is easy.
[Image shows a new text box appearing below, and then the image changes to show the robot holding a house shaped text box, and text appears: Adults register at- www.csiro.au/RobotResponders, Free activities, -Schools, -Homes, -Communities]
Register at www.csiro.au/RobotResponders and choose from a range of free activities for schools, homes and communities.
[Image changes to show an iPad with heading text on the left, a robot on the right moving left to right above text boxes on the left, as photos move though to show children doing robotics on the right, and text appears: Robot Responders, Free activities, Learning Resources, Mission Scenarios, Student Workbooks, Card Game, Design Challenges, Activity Guides, Online Game, Video Resources]
Educators can access curriculum aligned learning resources, mission scenarios and student workbooks.
[Image continues to show the photos moving through of children doing robotics, as a pointer moves over the text boxes]
Families and community groups can explore hands on design challenges and activity guides.
[Images move through to show a gaming program screen to build a robot using various selections and a power bar across the bottom, views of robots in game mode, and Robot Responders game cards, and text appears: Unplugged Card Game]
Participants can also test their ideas through the CSIRO Robot Responders online game or unplugged card game, tackling missions in caves and lava tubes, marine environments or space.
[Image changes to show three ‘Mission Complete, Superior Design’ cards across the screen featuring a dog robot, a boat and a CSIRO robot]
One challenge.
[Image changes to show a white screen with heading text above a text box, and text appears: CSIRO Robot Responders, One challenge, Three missions. Multiple ways to play]
Three missions. Multiple ways to play. CSIRO Robot Responders.
Inside CSIRO Robotics
Rosie working on a robot, and Ted testing a robot outside, and text appears: CSIRO Robot Responders, CSIRO Robotics in the real world with Rosie and Ted]
[Image changes to show Ted talking to the camera, and text appears: Ted Vanderfeen, Robotics Engineer]
Ted Vanderfeen: So the thing I love most about being a roboticist is the abilities and capabilities that these robotic systems are able to give us as humans.
[Image changes to show Ted’s arm and hand pointing at a computer screen with wavelengths below a video of what the robot’s camera can see]
So we can ask questions like, is there life on another planet?
[Image changes to show Ted listening to Rosie talking as they study a robot’s part, and then the image changes to show Ted talking to the camera]
And we can actually send a robot to that planet and begin to search and find answers to those questions.
[Music plays as image changes to show a title slide, and text appears: CSIRO Robot Responders, How do robots help humans work more safely in dangerous environments?]
[Image changes to show Rosie talking to the camera, and text appears: Rosie Attwell, Robotics Technical Program Manager]
Rosie Attwell: We deploy robots in dull, dirty, dangerous environments where humans do work today.
[Images move through to show Rosie holding a laptop as she observes a dog robot, a thermal image of an underground area, and a pile of rocks at night]
This could be in extreme heat, toxic or remote areas.
[Images move through to show Ted talking to the camera, a drone flying above a robot, and looking through the lens of a robot’s camera at another robot underground]
Ted Vanderfeen: If we can send a robot somewhere, we don't have to send a person and some particularly dangerous environments that we've sent our robots are things like nuclear power plants, bushfire zones and disaster relief situations.
[Music plays as image changes to show a title slide, and text appears: CSIRO Robot Responders, Why do robots need different designs for land, water, air and space?]
[Image changes to show Rosie talking to the camera, and then the image changes to show a robot driving over rocky terrain]
Rosie Attwell: If we think about the way robots are designed, you have to think about the purpose of where the robot's going, the environment that the robot's going into.
[Images move through to show a spider robot climbing, a small robot submarine, a robot driving through a tunnel, a robot’s camera view as its travelling through a tunnel, and Ted talking to the camera]
Ted Vanderfeen: So often we'll send robots out to sense things or collect data, collect samples of things, and within those different environments they have a different way of moving around.
[Image changes to show a driverless buggy, and then the image changes to show a robot climbing a wall]
So for a robot in space, for instance, it might be operating within microgravity or zero gravity so it can't push things and it can't use wheels.
[Image changes to show a colleague adjusting controls on a helicopter robot, and then the image changes to show a small submarine robot in water]
For a robot in the sea.
[Image changes to show Ted talking to the camera]
It can't obviously drive around on the water so you need things like propellers and stuff to propel yourself through that environment.
[Music plays as image changes to show a title slide, and text appears: CSIRO Robot Responders, What is biomimicry, and how are robot designs inspired by nature?]
[Images move through to show Rosie talking to the camera, boxes full of a wide range of insects, and views of Rosie listening and watching Ted as he’s talking and writing and drawing on a whiteboard]
Rosie Attwell: Biomimicry is where we look at biodiversity and animals and plants to help inform us on the design of the robot.
[Images move through to show Ted talking to the camera, a hand operating a robotic arm, and a robot arm picking up scissors]
Ted Vanderfeen: Here at CSIRO robotics, we have a soft robotics division that is largely focused on doing things like investigating how animals will grip objects and how animals will locomote through the environment and things like that.
[Music plays as image changes to show a title slide, and text appears: CSIRO Robot Responders, How can robots help scientists collect better data about animals and ecosystems?]
[Images move through to show Rosie talking to the camera, a side view of a dog robot walking outside, the dog robot walking towards the camera outside, and a rear view of a human robot walking outside]
Rosie Attwell: Robots can help scientists collect data about animals and the ecosystem by traversing through the bush all hours of the day.
[Image changes to show Rosie talking to the camera]
Your robots might not get tired, sleepy, they can carefully sit there and watch biodiversity and record that for us to have a look at.
[Music plays as image changes to show a title slide, and text appears: CSIRO Robot Responders, What is autonomy in robotics? Why is it especially important for space or disaster robots?]
[Image changes to show Rosie talking to the camera]
Autonomy is essentially the capability for robots to move on their own.
[Images move through to show a camera view from the lens of a robot travelling through a tunnel, a screen of a robot 3D simulation as inset top left a dog robot is moving inside a building, and a screen of robotic paths]
You might have a human operator that sets the mission and commands the robot fleet to go out and complete a task, and the robot will be able to go and do that with minimal supervision.
[Image changes to show Rosie talking to the camera]
And CSIRO specialise in autonomous robots.
[Image changes to show a dog robot navigating a path through obstacles and then the image changes to show Ted talking to the camera]
Ted Vanderfeen: Autonomy is especially important for space and disaster robots because in those environments they're inherently dangerous. We can't send humans to go and get the information or locate the people and things like that.
[Image changes to show a robot’s camera and rotating sensor]
So we need to be able to trust the robot will go and complete its mission without us having to micromanage it.
[Image changes to show Ted talking to the camera]
Another consideration for those environments is things like a communication delay, so we need to be able to send information to and from the robot and it's not always possible in some of those environments.
[Music plays as image changes to show a title slide, and text appears: CSIRO Robot Responders, How is AI influencing the future of robotics? How does CSIRO ensure ethical use of AI]
[Images move through to show Ted talking to the camera, the dog robot laying down, and a rear view of the dog robot walking towards Rosie working]
AI is influencing the future of robotics, much like it's influencing the rest of the world, like it's been transformational for robotic capabilities and the tasks that they're able to complete over the last few years.
[Image shows Rosie turning and walking towards the dog robot, and then images move through to show Rosie talking to dog robot, and Ted talking to the camera]
One thing that's really important to us at CSIRO is that we are implementing AI ethically and responsibly.
[Images move through to show a robot driving towards the camera, Ted listening to Rosie as she’s talking beside a robot and Ted talking to the camera]
So any decision, any research, any implementation of AI, we always ensure that there's human oversight on those decisions and the outputs from those AI models.
So we call this human in the loop governance.
[Music plays as image changes to show a title slide, and text appears: CSIRO Robot Responders, What are you most excited about when it comes to Robot Responders for National Science Week?]
[Image changes to show Rosie talking to the camera, and then the image changes to show children sitting around a table drawing and writing]
Rosie Attwell: We are so excited about Robot Responders and seeing how everybody in the classroom responds to it.
[Images move through to show a child looking at game cards and a ‘Robot Responders’ book, a child drawing a robot, a child playing a robot computer game, Rosie talking to the camera, and the CSIRO logo above text: Australia’s National Science Agency]
We have been working on this for a while, and we've integrated every little piece of storyline and insights into how robots work in the world today, and we can't wait to see what people think of it.
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