The brain in the machine: MIT is building robots that use full-body teleoperation to move with greater agility

A SUDDEN, TRAGIC WAKE-UP CALL: That's how many roboticists view the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in 2011. Reports following the accident described how high levels of radiation foiled workers' attempts to carry out urgent measures, such as operating pressure valves. It was the perfect mission for a robot, but none in Japan or elsewhere had the capabilities to pull it off. Fukushima forced many of us in the robotics community to realize that we needed to get our technology out of the lab and into the world.