By Ellen Hershberger | Echo
Artificial intelligence (A.I.) is reaching new heights in Taylor's computer science and engineering department (CSE) as drones and satellites take to the sky, students develop soccer-playing robots and mission trip planning progresses. Departm
ent head Art White gave a brief overview of these three major projects.
RoboCup 2D
Imagine a world where robots play soccer rather than take over the world. This world exists in the CSE Department. Last summer, current junior Keith Bauson and senior Adam Keenan had major breakthroughs in developing computer software that will eventually program can-sized robots to coordinate plays, communicate between other bots and recognize and respond to various moves independent of a controller.
An international RoboCup competition allows teams of these robots to play soccer again st each other with a golf ball. RoboCup's official goal is to create a team of robots that could beat the winners of the World Cup by 2050.
"(Our goal is) in about two more years to be able to submit a team for the international competition," White said.
ELEO Satellite
In another competition against nine other graduate schools, several Taylor CSE students are creating the design for an Extremely Low Earth Orbit (ELEO) satellite. The launch is to take place during the 2015-16 acad emic year.
White said the satellite will be equipped with various scientific instruments to take measurements as it orbits from 90 to 250 kilometers above the earth. The ELEO satellite will complete an orbit every 90 minutes, with a speed of five miles per second.
Thailand Mission Trip
The Taylor Center for Missions Computing will send a team of 19 juniors and seniors from Taylor's CSE Department to Chiang M
ai, Thailand during J-Term 2015.
This three-week trip, led by computer science professor Tom Nurkkala, will focus on software programming for Wycliffe Bible Translators. They aim to create a less-complex program so the organization can accelerate the translation process.
The department encourages student involvement with these projects to gain experience for their area of interest.
"We're always interested in finding projects for our students that are real world and involve practical, hands-on application of what they're learning in the classroom," White said.
