SRI International's Past and Present Achievements in Robotics Honored During Month of October

Shakey the Robot Inducted into Robot Hall of Fame; Centibots Demonstrated at RoboNexus 2004

MENLO PARK, Calif.--October 11, 2004--SRI International, a nonprofit independent contract research and development organization, will be honored for both its past and present contributions to the robotic sciences during the month of October.

Shakey the Robot will be inducted into the Robot Hall of Fame during a ceremony scheduled for later today at the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Developed in SRI's Artificial Intelligence Center from 1966-1972, Shakey was the first mobile robot capable of reasoning about its actions and manipulating its environment. It will be joined as an example of a real-world robot by Honda's ASIMO, the first two-legged walking humanoid robot. Additionally, famous fictional robots will be honored, including Astro Boy, a Japanese animation of a robot with a soul; Robby the Robot from the MGM science fiction film, "Forbidden Planet;" and C-3P0, one of the droids from the Star Wars movie series.

While Shakey represents an early milestone from SRI's timeline of robotic innovations, a more recent effort, the Centibots project, will be demonstrated at RoboNexus at the Santa Clara Convention Center from October 22-23, the nation's largest business development, education and consumer event for emerging robotic technologies. The Centibots are a system of mobile, coordinated robots that can autonomously and effectively explore, map, and survey the interior of unknown building structures. Centibots can communicate and work together as a team, while adapting to changing circumstances within their environment.

Additionally, Director of SRI's Artificial Intelligence Center Ray Perrault and Program Manager Charlie Ortiz will present a lecture titled "Four Decades of Innovation: Creating the Robotic Revolution," during the Emerging Technologies and Applications section of the conference.

About SRI International
Silicon Valley-based SRI International (www.sri.com) is one of the world's leading independent research and technology development organizations. Founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, SRI has been meeting the strategic needs of clients for more than 55 years. The nonprofit research institute performs contract research and development for government agencies, commercial businesses and private foundations. In addition to conducting contract R&D, SRI licenses its technologies, forms strategic partnerships and creates spin-off companies. SRI's most recent spin-offs include PacketHop, a wireless communications company launched in November 2003, and Artificial Muscle Inc., funded in March 2004.