TECNOSFERA

Testing rescue robots at arenas around the globe: Opportunities for major strides in robotic search and rescue technology should advance in December when Italy opens a year-round, robot-testing arena in Rome. The arena, patterned after one created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), simulates conditions in collapsed buildings. The Rome facility duplicates arenas already fabricated in the United States and Japan. Two more robot arenas based on the NIST design are scheduled to open next year in Germany and Portugal.