Museum of Science and Industry

The robots are coming! (And they're here to help.)

Join us April 6-14 for a Robot Block Party at MSI! To celebrate National Robotics Week 2013, we will be demonstrating several different kinds of robots from the U.S. and around the world, offering lectures from some of the top university robotics scholars and presenting special workshops and hands-on activities.

All activities are included in general Museum admission. Times, locations and availability are subject to change.

Robot Block Party on Twitter

Share your National Robotics Week experience at @msichicago with #Roboweek and #MSIbot.

Daily events (April 6-14)

Schedules and availability subject to change. Check at the Information Desk (Main Level 2) on the day of your visit for updates.

Hands-on Robot Displays

Available at times throughout the day in the Rotunda:

• Anybot QB2: A mobile telepresence robot, the Anybot adds remote-controlled mobility to videoconferencing, creating what is really "the next best thing to being there."
• Cubelets: Cubelets are smart blocks that can be snapped together to make an endless variety of robots. Each Cubelet block has a different function. There are Sense blocks that act like our eyes and ears, Action blocks that enable the robots to do things, and Think blocks that determine how the robot acts.
• Double: This mobile robot functions as an iPad stand on a set of motorized wheels, and is controlled remotely by an app on a second iPad. The Double's iPad display can show streamed images from the second iPad—such as the user’s face—and can be adjusted to various heights, so that the robot/user can look people directly in the eye.
• D+Ropop: Using a humanoid design made of corrugated cardboard, this robot weighs a mere 13 lbs. It uses 8 low-noise servomotors to move its arms and neck. D+Ropop outshines standard mannequins because of its fluid and elegant movements when displaying clothing.
• HAL Suit: The Hybrid Assistive Limb (also known as HAL) is a powered exoskeleton suit developed by Japan's Tsukuba University and the robotics company Cyberdyne. It has been designed to support and magnify the physical capabilities of its users, most notably people with physical disabilities. The lower-body portion of the HAL Suit will be here for this event.
• Kinect Mars Lander: Curiosity, the rover well known for its audacious landing plan that was nicknamed “seven minutes of terror,” can now be experienced via the Xbox 360 Kinect game. The Mars Rover Landing game was created by NASA and Microsoft, to simulate what NASA went through on the night of August 5, 2012. Players use body movements to control the three stages of Curiosity’s rover landing.
• KT-X: This humanoid robot is capable of walking, running, somersaulting and standing up from a face-up or face-down lying position. Its agility is the result of its servomotor actuated joints.
• Paro Therapeutic Robot: Looking more like a stuffed animal than a robot, Paro is a soft, furry seal that has helped reduce stress for hospital and nursing home patients. Paro has five different sensors that allow him to perceive people, and varying emotions and environments. He also recognizes voice direction—responding to different names, greetings and praise.
• PLEO: a robotic pet dinosaur designed by Caleb Chung, the co-creator of the Furby, to emulate the appearance and (imagined) behavior of a week-old baby Camarasaurus. Each Pleo "learns" from its experiences and environment through a sophisticated artificial intelligence system and develops an individual personality.
• R-One SWARM: Robots that work with SWARM technology, communicating with each other, and moving and behaving like a flock of birds or an army of ants. When given commands such as "disperse," "group," or "follow the leader," they will autonomously carry out the functions, maintaining set distances from each other and aligning without human assistance.
• Sphero: Sphero is the world's first robotic ball gaming system that you control with a smartphone or tablet app. You can drive Sphero, play multiplayer games, and even use Sphero as a hand controller for on-screen games.
• Survey Runner: This highly mobile robot can climb up and down steep stairs (up to a 45-degree angle) and even turn around in a 70 square-centimeter space. It was developed to assist in the repair work at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant by taking photos inside the reactor buildings with its three wide-angle cameras.

Live Science Demos

Some of our robot guests show off their special qualities (with a little help from our facilitators). Demos take place in the Rotunda except as noted.

10 a.m. – Anybot QB2 / Double: Have a tele-presence conversation with a Museum Facilitator about robotics and things to do at MSI. (see Anybot/Double above)
11 a.m. – Cubelet Challenge: Can you beat the Cubelet Challenge? Rearrange these smart blocks to make a robot that can complete a task. (see Cubelets above)
1 p.m. – Feeding Time for PLEO: Just like the family pet, PLEO needs lots of attention and special care. Meet our robotic pet dinosaur and be part of our feeding and training program. (see PLEO above)
2 p.m. – Anybot QB2 / Double: see 10 a.m. for description.
3 p.m. – iStan: This lifelike human patient simulator is a sophisticated robot used for medical training.  iStan can help us learn about our own bodies and teach medical professionals how to respond to medical emergencies. (in YOU! Lab, Balcony Level 3)

Special Events

Schedules and availability subject to change. Check at the Information Desk (Main Level 2) on the day of your visit for updates.

Saturdays and Sundays: Student Robot Team Demonstrations

See demonstrations as FIRST, after-school and hobbyist robotics teams present their work. Saturdays and Sundays (April 6, 7, 13, 14), all day (Rotunda).

Sunday, April 14: BotBall Championship

Let's get ready to execute function(rumble)! BotBall is a team-oriented robotics competition for middle- and high-school aged students who design, build and program the competing robots. Sunday, April 14, all day (West Pavilion/Little Theater).