Scientists at work on robot-rescuer

(ANSA) - Pisa, April 7 - Scientists in Pisa are at work on a new robot that can be sent into disaster areas and relay detailed data back to its human operators, sources said Tuesday.
    The robot - to be called Centaur - will transmit audio, visual, sensory and tactile information from natural or man-made disaster sites that may be too dangerous for humans to approach first-hand. Scientists at a perceptive robotics lab at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies - a public university for the applied sciences located in the Tuscan city of Pisa - aim to overcome the limitations of robot responders to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown.
    Those robots proved unwieldy, and Centaur will compensate by having humanoid torso with two arms, four legs, and the ability to move on uneven ground, within buildings, and up or down flights of stairs, scientists said.
    Its remote human operator will have robotic exoskeletons - or wearable robots - on his or her arms. This means the human can carry out complex tasks - such as closing a valve or connecting a pipe - from a safe distance. The project is coordinated by the Bonn University Institute for Computer Science under the European Union's Horizon 2020 project, which has a budget of four million euros. Other partners include the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa as well as German and Swedish universities.