Author: Michael Szollosy - you can also view the original post here.
Image from SERAS
Designed to be a fun and engaging experience for people of any age, users will see the world from the robot’s eyes, as if they themselves were the robot, and try to navigate their way through the maze.
In the mid-20th century, psychologist Edward Tolman performed many now-famous experiments with rats in various mazes, to learn more about how mammal’s brains understood space.
By joining the MiRo Maze challenge, you’ll find out first hand what it was like to be one of those rats. It’s a lot of fun. But more importantly, the MiRo Maze lets us think more about virtual reality, robotics, human psychology, and the future implications of telepresence - of literally being able to project your senses and experience the world from another body.
The MiRo Maze with the Pro
The MiRo Maze with the Newbie
How do I take part?
All you need is an internet connection and a browser. The Maze will be hosted at the Diamond at the University of Sheffield.
First round trials: 1-4 pm Monday to Thursday (21st-24th June)
Each competitor will have around 5 minutes practice controlling MiRo before having their turn in the Maze. We will have a leader board and those with the fastest times will be invited to take part in a final round.
Final round: 5-8 pm on Friday 25th.
All trials will be live broadcast online, alongside interviews and chat about the world of robotics.
Participation is FREE, but places are limited, so register soon. School groups are welcome to get in touch to find out how they can participate. (Taking your turn to control the robot will take around 20 minutes including practice time.)
Meet the Organisers
Image from SERAS
UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems network (UK-RAS) and the University of Sheffield in partnership with Cyberselves, Consequential Robotics, and the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Hub (TAS) are proud to bring you The Miro Maze as part of UK Festival of Robotics 2021 activities, taking place 21 – 25 June 2021.
The Maze and telepresence more generally are part of wider research partnerships and collaborations between Cyberselves and Sheffield Robotics in the areas of psychology, cobotics, haptics, and creating robots for human workplaces.