The PEL (Planetary Exploration Lab) test facility consists of an indoor ground area. The facility is used to reproduce planetary surfaces for vehicle traction and navigation tasks, to produce high-resolution surface models and to perform tests under normal and critical driving maneuvers.
Seeing the walking robots Toro and Bert in motion, imagining the humanoid robot Rollin’ Justin on Mars, gaining insights into surgery with robotic assistance in the MIRO Innovation Lab and production of tomorrow in the lab of the Factory of the Future or experiencing the possibilities offered by novel nursing assistance systems with the EDAN wheelchair: guests young and old were able to do all this and more this past Sunday, July, 21, 2019, at the Open Day of the DLR site in Oberpfaffenhofen at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics. Anyone interested was also able to view the research work for the robotic systems and applications such as the humanoid Agile Justin, the Virtual Therapy Arm VITA, the anthropomorphic robot DAVID, the simulator for satellite assembly, maintenance and repair work called OOS-SIM and from the SoMa project. And those who were curious about how the robots, which are basically all one-of-a-kind, are actually designed and produced could also experience the mechanical production at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics.
One special highlight of the day was the visit to the institute by Minister of State Hubert Aiwanger, the patron of the event. Institute director Professor Alin Albu-Schäffer was able to present, in particular, the institute’s work on service robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) in robotics to the Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy. “Minister Aiwanger was very enthusiastic about the multitude of applications of robotics – even beyond space travel. Space exploration drives high-tech from which medicine, nursing and industrial automation can profit. Both service robotics and AI have become indispensable in the DLR’s cross-section of digitization, and the institute plays a central role in research in both fields. I was very pleased to be able to show Minister of State Aiwanger our pioneering work on these topics,” said the director of the institute at the end of the event.
The motto of this year’s Open Day at Oberpfaffenhofen was “50 Years since the Lunar Landing,” which took place on July 21, 1969. Insights into the research institutes at the site, numerous lectures and demonstrations as well as a varied supporting program made the event an eventful and interesting insight into non-university research. Almost 20,000 guests came to take a look at the robot systems and research of the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics. But if you weren’t able to see the robotic systems and applications on-site, you can do so online with the virtual 360° tour of the research laboratories at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics.
Contact
Lioba Suchenwirth
Public Relations
Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics
Institute Development and Central Management
Münchener Straße 20, 82234 Oberpfaffenhofen-Weßling
