William L. Whittaker
Encyclopedia
William L. "Red" Whittaker is a roboticist
and research professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University
(CMU). Together with the technology lead Christopher Urmson, he led the team "Tartan
Racing" to its first place victory in the 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge
and brought Carnegie Mellon University
the two million dollar prize. Previously, Whittaker also competed for the DARPA Grand Challenge placing second and third place simultaneously, in the Grand Challenge Races.
Whittaker is currently the Fredkin Research Professor at Carnegie Mellon University
's Robotics Institute
as well as the Director of the Field Robotics Center and Chief Scientist of the Robotics Engineering Consortium, both located at the university.
He is also leading the CMU team which is competing for the Google Lunar X Prize
. As the chairman and CTO of Astrobotic Technology
, Whittaker will play an instrumental role in further lunar development.
, where his father was a salesman for explosives and his mother was a chemist. He matriculated at Princeton University
, but interrupted his studies to join the United States Marines. He returned to Princeton to earn his bachelor's degree
in civil engineering
in 1973 and then attended Carnegie Mellon University
, where he earned his master's degree
in 1975 and his Ph.D.
in 1979, both in civil engineering.
at nearby Three Mile Island nearly experienced a meltdown
. Within a budget of $1.5 million, Whittaker and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon built robots to inspect and perform repairs in the reactor's damaged basement, and their experiences with that project resulted in the creation of the Field Robotics Center at Carnegie Mellon University. Whittaker's later teams would also develop robots to help with the aftermath of the nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl in 1986. In 1987, Whittaker co-founded RedZone Robotics to develop and sell (or lease) robots that could operate in hazardous environments and situations too dangerous for humans.
Whittaker has led teams that have created robots designed to search for fallen meteorites in the ice fields of Antarctica, climb into the craters of active volcanoes in Alaska
and Antarctica, and explore the terrain of Mars
. The accident at the Quecreek Coal Mine
in nearby Somerset County, Pennsylvania
compelled Whittaker and his colleague Scott Thayer to develop robots that could map collapsed or abandoned mines for accident prevention or rescue purposes; they were joined in this endeavor by CMU colleague Sebastian Thrun
. Whittaker's robots have also explored the Atacama Desert
.
since the inception of the contest. In the first competition held in 2004 , his Red Team's vehicle "Sandstorm
" traveled 7.4 miles, the farthest of any participant, but no prize was awarded to any team. In the second competition in 2005, Whittaker led two teams, whose vehicles "Sandstorm
" and "H1ghlander
" captured 2nd place and 3rd place, respectively, behind the vehicle of his colleague, former Carnegie Mellon professor Sebastian Thrun
. (Thrun's software development leader, Michael Montemerlo, was also a former student of Whittaker.)
In the third competition held in 2007, Whittaker's team "Tartan Racing" captured first place with their vehicle "Boss", winning the $2 million prize.
Roboticist
A roboticist designs, builds, programs, and experiments with robots. Since robotics is a highly interdisciplinary field, roboticists often have backgrounds in a number of disciplines including computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer engineering...
and research professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
(CMU). Together with the technology lead Christopher Urmson, he led the team "Tartan
Tartan
Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
Racing" to its first place victory in the 2007 DARPA Grand Challenge
DARPA Grand Challenge
The DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for driverless vehicles, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the most prominent research organization of the United States Department of Defense...
and brought Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
the two million dollar prize. Previously, Whittaker also competed for the DARPA Grand Challenge placing second and third place simultaneously, in the Grand Challenge Races.
Whittaker is currently the Fredkin Research Professor at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
's Robotics Institute
Robotics Institute
The Robotics Institute is a division of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is considered to be one of the leading centers of robotics research in the world....
as well as the Director of the Field Robotics Center and Chief Scientist of the Robotics Engineering Consortium, both located at the university.
He is also leading the CMU team which is competing for the Google Lunar X Prize
Google Lunar X Prize
The Google Lunar X PRIZE, abbreviated GLXP, sometimes referred to as Moon 2.0, is a space competition organized by the X Prize Foundation, and sponsored by Google. It was announced at the Wired Nextfest on 13 September 2007...
. As the chairman and CTO of Astrobotic Technology
Astrobotic Technology
Astrobotic Technology is a privately held seed-stage company formed by Carnegie Mellon professor Red Whittaker and his associates, with the goal of winning the Google Lunar X Prize...
, Whittaker will play an instrumental role in further lunar development.
Biography
Whittaker spent his childhood in Hollidaysburg, PennsylvaniaHollidaysburg, Pennsylvania
Hollidaysburg is a borough in Blair County, Pennsylvania, on the Juniata River, south of Altoona. It is the county seat of Blair County. It is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area and is one of the communities that comprises the Altoona Urban Area...
, where his father was a salesman for explosives and his mother was a chemist. He matriculated at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, but interrupted his studies to join the United States Marines. He returned to Princeton to earn his bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
in 1973 and then attended Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, where he earned his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1975 and his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1979, both in civil engineering.
Robotics
In March of the year he received his Ph.D., the nuclear reactorNuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
at nearby Three Mile Island nearly experienced a meltdown
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....
. Within a budget of $1.5 million, Whittaker and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon built robots to inspect and perform repairs in the reactor's damaged basement, and their experiences with that project resulted in the creation of the Field Robotics Center at Carnegie Mellon University. Whittaker's later teams would also develop robots to help with the aftermath of the nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl in 1986. In 1987, Whittaker co-founded RedZone Robotics to develop and sell (or lease) robots that could operate in hazardous environments and situations too dangerous for humans.
Whittaker has led teams that have created robots designed to search for fallen meteorites in the ice fields of Antarctica, climb into the craters of active volcanoes in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and Antarctica, and explore the terrain of Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. The accident at the Quecreek Coal Mine
Quecreek Mine Rescue
The Quecreek Mine Rescue took place in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, when nine miners were trapped underground for over 78 hours, from July 24 to 28, 2002...
in nearby Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Somerset County is a county located in the state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 77,742. Somerset County was created on April 17, 1795, from part of Bedford County and named for Somerset, United Kingdom. Its county seat is Somerset. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania,...
compelled Whittaker and his colleague Scott Thayer to develop robots that could map collapsed or abandoned mines for accident prevention or rescue purposes; they were joined in this endeavor by CMU colleague Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and former director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory . He led the development of the robotic vehicle Stanley which won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, and which is exhibited in the Smithsonian...
. Whittaker's robots have also explored the Atacama Desert
Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is a plateau in South America, covering a strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes mountains. It is, according to NASA, National Geographic and many other publications, the driest desert in the world...
.
DARPA Grand Challenge
Whittaker has led teams at Carnegie Mellon to build self-driving cars that have participated in the DARPA Grand ChallengeDARPA Grand Challenge
The DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for driverless vehicles, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the most prominent research organization of the United States Department of Defense...
since the inception of the contest. In the first competition held in 2004 , his Red Team's vehicle "Sandstorm
Sandstorm (vehicle)
Sandstorm is an autonomous vehicle. Created by Carnegie Mellon University's Red Team, it is a heavily modified 1986 M998 HMMWV. It competed in the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2004 and 2005.Sandstorm qualified in first position in the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge...
" traveled 7.4 miles, the farthest of any participant, but no prize was awarded to any team. In the second competition in 2005, Whittaker led two teams, whose vehicles "Sandstorm
Sandstorm (vehicle)
Sandstorm is an autonomous vehicle. Created by Carnegie Mellon University's Red Team, it is a heavily modified 1986 M998 HMMWV. It competed in the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2004 and 2005.Sandstorm qualified in first position in the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge...
" and "H1ghlander
H1ghlander
H1ghlander is an autonomous vehicle. Created by Carnegie Mellon University's Red Team, it is a heavily modified 1999 HUMMER H1. It competed in the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge....
" captured 2nd place and 3rd place, respectively, behind the vehicle of his colleague, former Carnegie Mellon professor Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun
Sebastian Thrun is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University and former director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory . He led the development of the robotic vehicle Stanley which won the 2005 DARPA Grand Challenge, and which is exhibited in the Smithsonian...
. (Thrun's software development leader, Michael Montemerlo, was also a former student of Whittaker.)
In the third competition held in 2007, Whittaker's team "Tartan Racing" captured first place with their vehicle "Boss", winning the $2 million prize.
Professional activities
- Fellow, American Association for Artificial Intelligence
- Member, National Research CouncilUnited States National Research CouncilThe National Research Council of the USA is the working arm of the United States National Academies, carrying out most of the studies done in their names.The National Academies include:* National Academy of Sciences...
, Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems, Committee on Advanced Space Technologies - Member, American Nuclear SocietyAmerican Nuclear SocietyThe American Nuclear Society is an international, not-for-profit 501 scientific and educational organization with a membership of approximately 11,000 scientists, engineers, educators, students, and other associate members. Approximately 900 members live outside the United States in 40 countries....
; Robotics and Remote Systems Division - Member, National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
Peer Review Committee on DOEUnited States Department of EnergyThe United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
Environmental Management Technologies, 1994 - 1995. - Member, National Academy of Sciences Committee to Provide Interim Oversight of the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex, 1988-1989.
Awards and honors
- Elected to National Academy of EngineeringNational Academy of EngineeringThe National Academy of Engineering is a government-created non-profit institution in the United States, that was founded in 1964 under the same congressional act that led to the founding of the National Academy of Sciences...
, 2009 - Named University Professor, the highest faculty rank at Carnegie Mellon University, 2007
- Design NewsDesign NewsDesign News is a US trade publication published by UBM Electronics, a division of United Business Media. Design News serves the information needs of the field of design engineering....
Special Achievement Award, 1998 - Vector/Pittsburgh, Man of the Year in Technology for 1994
- Laurels Award, Aviation Week and Space Technology for outstanding achievement, 1994
- American Association of Artificial Intelligence, AAAI Fellow, 1993
- Carnegie Mellon University Alumni Merit Award for Outstanding Achievement, 1992
- ComputerworldComputerworldComputerworld is an IT magazine that provides information for senior IT leaders. It is published in many countries around the world under the same or similar names. Its publisher is International Data Group. Computerworld serves the needs of IT management via print and online...
, Smithsonian Award 1992 - Science DigestScience DigestScience Digest was a monthly American magazine published by the Hearst Corporation from 1937 through 1986. It initially had an 8 x 5 inch format with about 100 pages, and was targeted at persons with a high school education level...
s Top 100 US Innovators for robotics work, 1987 - Teare Award for Teaching Excellence, Carnegie Mellon University
- National Science FoundationNational Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
Fellowship, Carnegie Mellon University - CIT Fellowship, Carnegie Mellon University
See also
- SandstormSandstorm (vehicle)Sandstorm is an autonomous vehicle. Created by Carnegie Mellon University's Red Team, it is a heavily modified 1986 M998 HMMWV. It competed in the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2004 and 2005.Sandstorm qualified in first position in the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge...
, one of Red Team's autonomous vehicles
External links
- Personal site
- Academic site
- About RedZone Robotics, the company that Red created
- Red Team Racing
- Nova |The Great Robot Race (Red Whittaker is prominently featured in this television documentary.)