CLAWAR: modular robots for the future

In the design and manufacture of robots there has been little sharing of technologies or components. Applications differ, but there is also a large degree of overlap and it is important that the robot designers acknowledge this and develop some infrastructure where experience gained in one area can be transferred to another. It is this interaction and cross-fertilisation that could open the way for the development of new and exciting types of robots. As part of this drive towards co-ordinating the future development of robotic systems and encouraging their widespread adoption an applied robotic thematic network for this area of technology was set up in 1998. The project comprised 22 partners covering most of Europe. The overall aim of the CLAWAR network was to provide a focal point for mobile robotics generally, with particular emphasis on legged and climbing machines. It brought together researchers and industrialists so that the status of applied robotic systems could be identified and the wider adoption of robotic systems encouraged.