Willow Garage

News and Events

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 21:00:18 Z

News and Events

In the News

June 26, 2008
Brian P. Gerkey Joins Willow Garage as Research Scientist
May 15, 2008
Kurt Konolige Joins Willow Garage Management Team
March 17, 2008
VentureDeal: Robotics Incubator Willow Garage Ramps Up
March 15, 2008
VentureBeat: Robotics start-up Willow Garage believes open source OS will soon put robots in our homes
March 10, 2008
OpenLogic: Why start a company with an open source product?
March 7, 2008
IEEE Spectrum Online: California Startup Introduces Open-Source Robot
March 6, 2008
LinuxWorld: Start-up Willow Garage aims to make robotics useful to everyday life
March 5, 2008
DIY Robotics: The Rise of Open Source Hardware

December 20, 2007
Willow Garage -- Personal Robots Program
December 9, 2007
San Francisco Chronicle: The Robots Among Us
November 26, 2007
American Machinist: Your Personal Robot
October 31, 2007

VentureBeat: Emergence of the personal-assistant robots: PR2, Asimo and Dexter
October 27, 2007
Science Fantastic: Interview with Steve Cousins
October 27, 2007
The Register, UK: RoboDevelopment Conference in Pictures II
October 25, 2007
KGO TV: The Future Of Robotics Comes To Silicon Valley
October 25, 2007

Space Channel: Willow Garage Unveils Plan for New Personal Robotics Platform
October 25, 2007
Venture Deal: Willow Garage Fosters Personal Robotics Platform
October 24, 2007
ZDNet: Start-up warms up personal robots
October 24, 2007
CNet News: Tuning up autonomous vehicles
October 24, 2007
San Francisco Chronicle: A one-eyed rob ot can do pushups on command
October 24, 2007

Popular Science: A Robotics Startup Without a Timetable

Press Releases

Kurt Konolige Joins Willow Garage Management Team
Researcher, Lecturer and Author to Direct Projects involving Perception and Mapping

MENLO PARK, CA – May 15, 2008 – Continuing its investment in Open Source robotics platforms and expanding its senior management team, Willow Garage Inc. today announced the appointment of Kurt Konolige as Senior Researcher. Konolige, previously a Senior Computer Scientist at SRI International’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, and currently a Consulting Professor at Stanford University’s Computer Sciences Department, is known for his contributions to robotic perception and mapping.
Read more...

Gary Bradski Joins Willow Garage Management Team
Researcher, Author and Industry Speaker Becomes Company's Senior Scientist

MENLO PARK, CA - December 4, 2007 - Continuing its investment in Open Source robotics platforms, Willow Garage Inc. today announced the appointment of Dr. Gary Rost Bradski as Senior Scientist. Bradski will leverage his experience in robotics, machine learning and computer vision research at Stanford University's AI Lab and will apply that knowledge to Willow Garage's personal robot and the autonomous vehicle programs.
Read more...

Willow Garage Unveils Plan For New Personal Robotics Platform
Donation to Stanford Furthers the Development of Tools for Robotics Application Development

MENLO PARK, CA – October 24, 2007 – To jumpstart the development of future robotics applications, Willow Garage Inc. today announced its plan to develop an available, standardized robotics platform. The company also announced that it has donated $850,000 to the Stanford Computer Science research group of Assistant Professor Andrew Ng. That Lab is currently developing advanced open source software for personal robotics.
Read more...

Willow Garage Announces New President and CEO

Research and Leadership Background Attractive to Company's Mission

May 8, 2007 -- Willow Garage, a privately-funded research lab focused on developing the next generation of robotic devices, today announced the appointment of Steve Cousins to the position of president and CEO.
Read more...

Events

2007 International Robot Exhibition

Willow Garage will be attending the 2007 International Robot Exhibition in Japan to learn what is new in the field of robotics. We will report on what we observe and learn in blogs after the conference.
Read more on iREX2007...

HomePage

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:34:43 Z

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Willow Garage.

An Unusual Name.

An Unusual Company.

Technology is a lever. For the past fifty years, we have been interacting more effectively with the world as a result of technology. We discovered that technology could make people more efficient, more productive and, in many cases, more self-sustaining.

more >>

Delivering Autonomous Technology

The Team

Fri, 23 May 2008 21:58:38 Z

The Team

Scott Hassan, Founder

Scott Hassan is best known as founder of eGroups (a group email messaging company now known as Yahoo Groups) and was the key software architect/developer of Google, Alexa Internet and the Stanford Digital Library.

Throughout his life, Scott has also had a deep interest in open source software, computers and autonomy. These interests led him to start Willow Garage, a privately-funded research company directed to advancing the state of robotic technology in autonomous devices.

Scott brings to his role at Willow Garage a combination of startup experience and expertise building large software systems using open source tools.

Scott earned his B.S. in Computer Science from SUNY Buffalo in 1992 and, in his ongoing search for learning, continued his studies in the Computer Science Masters programs at both Washington University and Stanford University.

Steve Cousins, President & CEO

Steve Cousins is a seasoned executive, entrepreneur and innovator with a strong track record for managing research and development organizations and creating a significant return on investment. Prior to joining Willow Garage, Steve was the senior manager of the User-Focused Systems Research Group at the IBM Almaden Research Center, one of the top Human-Computer Interaction Research groups in the world.

Before he assumed his roles at Willow Garage and Almaden Research, Steve managed the Advanced Systems Development Laboratory at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). Earlier in his career Steve was a member of the research staff in the Information Sciences and Technology Laboratory where his research interests were in information visualization, personal information management and digital libraries. Steve's career in research began at the Medical Informatics Laboratory at Washington University School of Medicine, followed by research at Interval Research while completing his doctoral work at Stanford.

Steve received his Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University and his B.S. and M.S. degrees in computer science from Washington University in St. Louis, where he currently serves on the Computer Science department's external advisory board.

He has given numerous presentations on topics including information visualization, digital libraries, and human-computer interaction, web 2.0 technologies. He is the general chair for the User Interface Software and Technology conference UIST 2008.

Eric Berger – Co-Director Personal Robotics Program

Eric Berger is an experienced researcher with an extensive background in computer science and robotics. His expertise focuses on practical design and control of complex robotic systems, covering topics ranging from machine learning, sensor fusion, multi-dof controls and full-system reliability to real-time distributed system architectures.

Prior to joining Willow Garage as the Co-Director of the Personal Robotics Platform Program, Eric spent three years at Stanford leading the software and electronics development efforts on the Personal Robotics project. Eric’s other research included developing the architecture for the STAIR (STanford AI Robot)program in the Stanford AI lab, leading development of several force-controlled mobile manipulators, heading the collaboration with a Japanese company to explore robotic hand-shaking and other research projects in geometric computation. Previously Eric worked with startups ranging from consumer robotics to satellite tracking.

Eric received his Undergraduate and Master's Degree in Computer Science, with honors, from Stanford and is currently on leave from the PhD program at Stanford.

Keenan Wyrobek – Co-Director Personal Robotics Program

Keenan Wyrobek is an experienced researcher whose background includes a strong focus on engineering design - specifically multi-objective optimization in the design of complex electro - mechanical systems. His design expertise also includes haptic, medical and personal robotic systems.

Prior to joining Willow Garage as a Co-Director of the Personal Robotics Platform Program, Keenan was employed as the Chief Operations Officer at Reading Revolution, a privately- held educational products company. There he was involved in a successful yearlong turn-around. At Stanford Keenan spent two years leading the mechanical development efforts on the Personal Robotics project, leading to the development of PR1.

Keenan received his BS in Engineering Mechanics from the Johns Hopkins University and an MS in Mechanical Engineering Design from Stanford University. At Stanford he was a National Science Foundation fellow and Stanford Graduate fellow. Keenan is currently on leave from the PhD program at Stanford.

Careers

Thu, 15 May 2008 22:50:33 Z

Careers

If you want to work on research and development projects with long-term goals, are interested in doing innovative research and science, and want to apply that research in deployed robotics systems, consider joining the Willow Garage team.

We are looking for smart, creative, technical people who are passionate about making robots that can help people. At Willow Garage you can work on ambitious, cutting-edge autonomous robotics projects. We have a collaborative, flexible work environment that values innovative thinking, high energy, passion, and deep technical know-how - and we are actively building the best team in the industry!

Currently we are looking for:

Job Title: Electrical Systems Engineer - Personal Robotics Program
Description: Design, build, and maintain robot electrical system for the Personal Robotics program.

Work on a small team to develop and distribute a robot based on a prototype developed at Stanford. See videos of the prototype at personalrobotics.stanford.edu/videos code:jobs

Duties and essential job functions:
*Design, source, build, and test electrical systems for the Personal Robot program from available components where possible using custom boards where necessary.
*Responsible for proper functioning of electrical systems in prototypes and in production robots
*Design and implement test plans and equipment for acceptance testing and break-in of subassemblies.
*Assist with developing and implementing maintenance plan once systems are distributed
*Work with software developers to ensure proper system behavior (writing production software is not part of the job description but some understanding of software is essential)

Robot electrical systems include:
* Power system (Batteries, Chargers, Monitoring circuitry, Power regulation for onboard electronics, Wireless emergency-stop functionality)
* Wiring (Flexible wiring harnesses and connectors, All required interconnects for complete system)
* Sensors (Laser range-finders, Cameras)
* Motor drivers (Network of ~30 motor drivers)
* Computers (Several small form-factor Linux computers)

Required
Experience designing, building, maintaining and debugging large distributed electrical systems that include custom motor amplifiers
Experience with moderate to high-power electrical systems (>12V, >10A)
Demonstrated ability to see development of complex systems through to completion

Preferred
BS or MS in Electrical Engineering, Aero-Astro, or Mechanical Engineering with appropriate experience
Experience developing and implementing formal testing procedures
Experience with meeting electrical requirements for communication protocols

We are also interested in colleagues with experience in one or more of these areas:

control system analysis and system dynamics
computer vision
real-time planning
kinematic simulation
data analysis for complex physical systems
machine learning
probabilistic reasoning
embedded systems programming
knowledge representation & reasoning

Strong development candidates should have a BS or MS in CS, ME, EE/ECE, Aero/Astro, Systems Engineering, or related areas, or in-depth prior experience building related systems.

Strong research candidates should have a PhD in CS, ME, EE/ECE, Aero/Astro, or related areas.

If you are smart and adaptable, email your resume (pdf preferred), along with a link to any relevant projects that you'd like to share with us to: <%= email 'jobs@willowgarage.com' %>

Blogs

Thu, 08 May 2008 05:12:17 Z

Blogs

Here are the blogs for WillowGarage.

Steve Cousins

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:37:57 Z

Steve Cousins, President & CEO

Programs

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:32:18 Z

Personal Robots Program

At Willow Garage, our focus is on developing technologies to make devices behave

autonomously in the everyday world that people inhabit. We have done some preliminary work on three types of devices (cars, boats, and personal robots) and are currently focused on personal robots. The key attributes of Personal Robots are that they are safe and capable: they need to work in close proximity to people without the danger of causing serious injury - and they need to be able to perform services for people in a human environment. Today we are working closely with Stanford University's STAIR (STanford Artificial Intelligence Robot) project to make this vision a reality.

About Us

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:45:39 Z

About Us

“We are technology-driven people, who are passionate about robotics, and have been given an opportunity to make a mark on the field.”

Willow Garage is a privately-funded research lab focused on developing the next generation of robotic devices. We are a company comprised of interesting people doing interesting things while immersed in technology. Willow Garage is a place where ideas germinate and take root as a result of smart people from different disciplines working closely together on real problems.

At Willow Garage we provide an environment for experimentation, innovation, openness and collaboration. We are willing to take risks. Our team reflects multiple disciplines – computer science, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering – and it is the intersection of these and other disciplines that leads to the convergence of exciting new ideas.

Through generous private investment and philanthropy, Willow Garage has the resources to maintain a research lab of 60 people indefinitely. Our sponsors have charged us with developing autonomous artificial devices that operate in unconstrained environments without human intervention to perform specific tasks.

Our mission is to go beyond state of the art and make a positive impact on the world. We are enabling computers to operate in the real world, in unconstrained human environments where they can help with repetitive tasks. Our initial set of projects involves personal robots, cars, and boats.

Willow Garage provides a state-of-the-art infrastructure for robotic software development, including test-driven development, agile methods, and solid robotic platforms that we aim to make autonomous. When the critical innovations that we are developing emerge to become products, the company will spin off that technology to product companies whose infrastructure will support the development, marketing, and sales of those technologies.

At Willow Garage we are investing in robotics platforms and expect to deliver exciting new platforms that enable the next generation of robotics applications - applications that serve and enhance the lives of people.

Contact Us

Willow Garage, Inc.
68 Willow Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025

650-475-2700

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:12:58 Z

John and I spent the last two days at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) in Massachusetts as part of an intense week of meetings, talks and visits with others on the Willow Garage management team. We have been attending East Coast conferences, visiting universities and research institutes – and talking with interesting people at interesting companies. The visit at WHOI exceeded our expectations. Hanu Singh went above and beyond in organizing presentations and meetings, introducing us to people, showing us the science and technology and thinking about ways that we can collaborate. For the uninitiated, WHOI is the gold standard in ocean research and exploration; their technology and people were behind high profile expeditions such as the Titanic, finding the lost H-Bomb in the Atlantic, photographing underwater archaeological wrecks and discovering hydrothermal vents. Along with these well known feats is a body of scientific work that has made tremendous contributions to our knowledge of the oceans.

We got the opportunity to speak about our program and were very pleased that some of the WHOI folks are interested in working with us on the technology that we are developing and using it to fill gaps in ocean science. We left feeling very optimistic that this wouldn’t just be a “we should do something together” kind of meeting but one that will actually lead to collaboration.

Dreams in High Fidelity

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:37:46 Z

The first piece of computer art that is organic and dynamic. What does a computer dream about? Does it count sheep?

Scott Draves has created a network of 50,000 computers worldwide working together to generate art.

We have an installation of Scott's art called "Dreams in High Fidelity", his rendition of what computers might dream about while they sleep. I asked him to create a high resolution version that moved 12x slower and with longer transitions - something our staff and visitors might enjoy.

Scott agreed and created a dynamic, organic work of art using the equivalent of 500 years of CPU time. Our installation appears on a 60 inch screen, has 200 sheep and 800 transitions - with each sheep playing for one minute and having four transitions that last for 30 seconds before the next sheep appears. Although all the sheep are based on the same algorithm, each is completely different, unique and complex. Most are beautiful and engaging.

If this sounds interesting, and you are near Menlo Park or Palo Alto, please feel free to stop by. We'd like to share it with you.

--- Scott Hassan

Science Pod

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:37:03 Z

"Why are you holding a trash can in that picture?" my kids wanted to know. "For Science" was my answer. I went on to tell them that the picture is not a trash can, it's a science pod from our solar-powered autonomous boat. The boat is just weeks away from completion and its first splash. Its deck is completed and ready to be bonded to the hull as soon as the solar panels are attached, all the major components have been built - and the electronic and mechanical systems have been tested in the lab.

So what's the science pod? It's a module designed to house scientific experiments, the details of which are to be covered in future blogs and news. When mounted in the boat, the bottom of the pod is in contact with the water and the "lid" is part of the deck. The scientific module inside will get power, navigation information, and communications from the boat. Stay tuned for more 'science experiments.'

Steve Cousins
President and CEO
Willow Garage, Inc

General Blog

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:36:37 Z

General Blog

This is the blog for general happenings at Willow Garage.

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Towards Customizable Linux Navigation Software

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:38:35 Z

I’m Mike Slinn and I’m working with Willow Garage on its autonomous boat project. The onboard navigation computer actually drives the boat- and is supervised by an onboard mission planner. I’m working on a remote navigation program so that mission personnel can take over from the mission planner and direct the boat’s passage. Both the onboard computer and the remote computer run Ubuntu Linux. All high level software is written in Python. The remote computer receives a copy of the instrument data feed via wireless.

The only customizable navigation software I know of is 5 figures and although it runs on many platforms, it is not very extensible. What’s more there are no other decent commercial navigation software packages available for Linux. Happily, I found a really nice GIS package that runs on Linux, Mac and Windows which can read S-57 charts such as those published by NOAA. The package, called OpenEV, http://openev.sourceforge.net,is written in Python and has a python command line interpreter � most cool! If you want to play with it, get the FWTools download since the Vexcel download is old. All software dependencies are included in the download. OpenEV is not a navigation program, but it is a great start for building one.

You can download S57 vector chart data from here http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/MCD/enc/download.htm. After you download and unzip the charts you want, start up OpenEV and load the file with the 000 file type.

If you want to try customizing OpenEV, here are few hints:

The toolbar can be modified by editing xmlConfig/DefaultIconFile.xml; menu icons belong in pics/.
The menu can be modified by editing xmlConfig/DefaultMenuFile.xml
Plug-ins must be placed in tools
An example plug-in is provided in pymod/toolexample.py

I found it helpful to use IDLE (apt-get install idle) to browse the Python classes. If you write a script and place it in the FWTools directory, you can launch IDLE as follows:

cd "$(dirname $0)" 
export PYTHONPATH=pymod:lib:$PYTHONPATH
idle&

Once IDLE is launched, use the File/Path Browser menu item to browse the source. Double-clicking on a file, class or method will display the code.

The syntax for the embedded Python interpreter is defined here http://openev.sourceforge.net/app/pyshell.html

Gotta get back to work� anyone else interested using OpenEV to create a navigation system?

--Mike

3-DOF Program

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:37:46 Z

In robotics, 'degrees of freedom' are counted to describe how many independently moving parts a device has. The more, the better -- however, the more, the more complex. We are managing the AV program w/several degrees of freedom as well. In our case, the degrees of freedom are the key components of the program: platform, electrical and mechanical hardware, electronics, low-level software and high-level software. We need all of these to work together to deliver an operational vessel. By decoupling them, however, we can make progress in some areas without being blocked by setbacks in others. We have done some very interesting work on a sophisticated method of mission planning around solar power optimization, for example, while setbacks in the electrical system have delayed testing this software at sea. By using simulation and planning to open-source our software, we hope to make an impact in each area as quickly as progress in that area allows.

The smell of fiberglass in the morning

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:36:59 Z

Dave, the boat builder, was back to work on the hull today. The switch to 24V has cascaded into some revisions -- including building and mounting an enclosure for the solar chargers and making changes to the frame that secure the two forward batteries that had to be changed. He also prepared the deck for penetrations for a water- impermeable vent and a variety of wires (GPS, radio antennas, pod connectors). We also found a location for the True North compass/gyros as far from electrical current as possible. In a small hull with current flowing in every direction from the solar panels, compensating for this will clearly be an interesting challenge. A solution was also hacked up for the motor controller board to receive 24V so we are progressing towards a system test at 24V.