When the US Department of Education gets into the robotics game, you’ll need to be ready
The Department of Defense has officially applied for an “emergency” status as the country prepares for the start of robotics competitions in the 2018-2019 school year.
The move comes just days after the Department of Homeland Security announced that it is considering a new Robotics Competitions program, but only after US military forces have already received permission to participate.
In an announcement issued by the Department on Monday, the US Government announced that they have “expanded the Robotics Challenge, including a number of new teams, in the United States and overseas to compete in international competitions,” and that they will “conduct an evaluation of the Robotics Competitor Program to determine if the current status of the program should be changed.”
The announcement also noted that the Department has requested the US military to participate in the Robotics Competition as well, though it has not specified how many troops they will be able to send to the contest.
“The US Department is looking to develop a robotic strategy to support US military missions in support of national security and to ensure our nation is prepared for the potential of robotics in the future,” the announcement reads.”US Armed Forces personnel and civilian employees will participate in robotics competitions as part of their ongoing support to the US Armed Forces.”
The US government announced that the program will involve US troops participating in “several robotics competitions over the next year.”
In the announcement, the department also announced that its Robotics Competitors would be competing in “the International RoboGames” and the “Worlds Most Wanted” competitions.
The US military will also be eligible to participate as well.
The announcement comes as the US prepares to welcome the next generation of robotics, as the Department is set to release a robot competition to determine who will be the next US president.
In a statement, President Donald Trump announced that his administration is awarding $25 million in “competitive grants to support the development of robotics talent and the establishment of a new US National Robotics Engineering Center.”
“We are also partnering with our top robotics innovators and business partners to identify new robotics talent to help our military as well as other national security organizations prepare for a future with robot capabilities,” Trump said in a statement.
“I am pleased to announce that the US Robotics Competitiveness Initiative has awarded a $25M competitive grant to support our robotics talent development and the development and testing of new robots to meet our national security needs,” he added.
