McGovern and Markey Visit WPI to Tour Robotics Lab

Friday, October 24, 2014

GoLocalWorcester Political Team

U.S.. Representative Jim McGovern and U.S.. Senator Ed Markey visited with Worcester Polytechnic Institute students, professors and administrators on Thursday to tour several innovative robotics engineering labs that focus on advancing space exploration, human-robot collaboration and disaster response.

Oryx, a planetary rover, and Aero, a robot used in a recent NASA Centennial Challenge, were two of the robotic systems that McGovern and Markey were introduced to at the Robotics and Intelligent Vehicles Research Laboratory. They also got to see WPI's Autonomous Robotic Collaboration Lab where researchers create Algorithms which allow robots to interact with the world.

“I am enormously proud to have such brilliant people living, learning and working right here in Worcester,” said U.S.. Representative Jim McGovern about the facility.

“WPI believes it is critical to continue to bring together disparate technologies all working toward the same goal,” said Taskin Padir, assistant professor of robotics engineering at WPI, he is involved in multiple robotics efforts on campus.

RIVeR Lab at WPI was founded in 2010 with the goal being to raise awareness about the state of robotic technology and how it can save and improve lives.

Related Slideshow: MA Election Predictions: Political Experts Weigh In

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Paul Giorgio

GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

MA Governor: Coakley

9th Worcester (House): Green

12th Worcester (House): Naughton Jr.

17th Worcester (House): Belanger

Worcester Senate (Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex): Gobi

Worcester Senate (Worcester 1st): Chandler

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Chris Pinto

Worcester Republican City Committee

MA Governor: Baker

9th Worcester (House): Green

12th Worcester (House): Wyatt

17th Worcester (House): Belanger

Worcester Senate (Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex): Valenzola

Worcester Senate (Worcester, Norfolk): Fattman

Worcester Senate (Worcester 1st): Franco

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Bill McCarthy

Worcester Representative, Massachusetts Republican Party

MA Governor: Baker

9th Worcester (House): Muradian

12th Worcester (House): Wyatt

17th Worcester (House): Campanale

Worcester Senate (Worcester, Hampden, Hampshire and Middlesex): Valanzola

Worcester Senate (Worcester, Norfolk): Fattman

Worcester Senate (Worcester 1st): Franco

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Erin O'Brien

Associate Professor of Political Science, UMass Boston

MA Governor: “Right now, the polls are suggesting a toss up. I think that Coakley has the support of the numbers game; there are a lot more Democrats than Republicans in Massachusetts. But I think that Baker has the advantage of there not being a higher profile race on the ballot. There are also a lot of people who think that what happened to Coakley in losing to Scott Brown in 2010 may happen again against Baker.”

MA Attorney General: “I think that Maura Healey is the biggest star to emerge from this election cycle. I think that she will win by a large margin, by as much as 20-30 points.”

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Tobe Berkovitz

Associate Professor of Advertising, Boston University

“Right now, I think the governor’s race is too close to call. I think that Massachusetts sort of has a political burnout at the moment; I think that the Brown v. Warren race sucked the energy out of the politicos. And when you look at Baker and Coakley, both candidates are solid but neither is the definitive candidate that either party can fully stand behind.”