Dartmouth taps Parametric for robot study
Parametric Technology Corp. said today that Dartmouth College engineers are using some of its know-how to help develop and study a new breed of robots.
Parametric, a Needham company whose specialties include providing product lifecycle management solutions, said a research team at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth is studying the concept of "cooperative control," which would allow a single person to control multiple high-speed, all-terrain robots.
Such robots, which were designed with the help of a company product called Pro/Engineer, can be used to assist first-responders in emergencies or help military personnel scout hostile terrain.
According to Parametric, the cooperative control approach can reduce costs by eliminating the need for the one-soldier-per-robot control procedure currently required with highly specialized military use robots.
"The Dartmouth research project is an excellent example of how educational institutions can use PTC's leading technology solutions to prepare their students to compete effectively in the workforce," John Stuart, a company senior vice president, said in a statement.
The company sometimes refers to itself as PTC.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
