For Roboticists, Robot Hobbyists, and Students
"Green Robot" is a project, an extension of what you might now be doing in robotics research or competition. In Green Robot, an interested group of roboticists, hobbyists and / or students builds a robot and a landscape, designated a "lab", according to specifications which the group desires. Information and photos about the robot and the landscape are posted at a Web site, as arranged by the nonprofit organizations Optimizing National Education and Technology Initiatives and Applications Foundation. (The Web site already exists.) Also, the lab is connected to the Web site, enabling remote operation of the robot. People throughout the world come to the site and "shop" for labs, that is, robots and landscapes which interest them, then sign up to become operators. Sitting at her / his faraway computer, an operator engages her chosen robot through the site, receiving video and audio from the lab and transmitting a signal to maneuver the robot.
The operator or a sponsor pays per minute, while the lab earns per minute. The lab pays no fee to participate and does not buy anything from Green Robot. Also, there is no contractual obligation, meaning that the lab may dissociate at any time, no harm, no foul.
The imagination is the limit as to the type of robot and landscape in each lab. (Yes, your group may have more than one robot, more than one landscape.) The level of difficulty is up to your group. The only limitation is that your lab be appropriate for young operators with regard to propriety. Your group may create a challenge for an operator, like maneuvering a robot through a simulated Martian landscape or using a robot to find buried treasure within a certain time period. Also, there can be collaborations and competitions, as operators in different parts of the world work with one another, as if doing an extra-vehicular activity outside the international space station, or compete with one another, as if racing through an obstacle course.
At the least, each lab will be entertaining and self-sustaining through the income which it generates. At best, each lab will draw the interest of operators to robotics as a profession or hobby, and will generate income for sustainable projects in the public interest, including sustainable humanitarian projects. Educators might find Green Robot useful as a means to cultivate the interest of elementary, middle and high schoolers in mathematics, physics, engineering, aerospace or robotics. So, you might well be helping a teacher as you enjoyably create and operate your lab.
What, then, are the benefits to setting up and running a Green Robot lab?
- Having others do field testing of your robot and give you feedback, without your having to pay them.
- Receiving income from operators who maneuver your robot recreationally.
- Helping teachers kindle an interest by youth in science and mathematics.
Green Robot is going to be an interesting project.