Our Crowdfunding Groups
Our crowdfunding campaign has ended, but you can still support the RoMeLa team by clicking here.
Welcome to our fundraising campaign to support ARTEMIS, a cutting-edge humanoid robot that could change the future of robotics!
ARTEMIS is our newest next-gen robot, equipped with advanced actuators that give it superior muscle! These new motors grant it enhanced speed, power, and precision that make it more agile and robust than conventional robots. With this new technology, ARTEMIS has the potential to run, jump, and move like an athlete.
ARTEMIS standing
ARTEMIS Kicking
ARTEMIS Running
For more amazing videos of ARTEMIS, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTkupawAG6w&ab_channel=RoMeLa
We envision a future where robots coexist harmoniously with humans and support us in our daily life. We believe that ARTEMIS will take us a step closer to this vision of the future!
Rescue Me! Tactical Hazardous Operations Robot (THOR), developed at RoMeLa, on the cover of Popular Science magazine (left) and in the lab (right). This robot was previously developed by RoMeLa to compete in the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge.
Our lab is planning to compete in RoboCup 2023, a prestigious international competition for robotic soccer teams. RoMeLa is a five-time world champion of RoboCup in the humanoid division and brought the coveted Louis Vuitton Cup to the United States for the first time in 2011. We last took home the championship back in 2015.
CHARLI with his prize, the Louis Vuitton Cup!
Since then, we have been hard at work on our new cutting-edge humanoid robot, ARTEMIS. Now that we have one ARTEMIS built and tested, we believe it is time to return to RoboCup and bring home the championship!!!
Matching ARTEMIS
Join us on the road to RoboCup 2023 and beyond!
To better assist humans in the future, human-shaped robots are best for navigating environments designed for humans. We have been continuously testing ARTEMIS for real-life scenarios, and it is now capable of autonomously navigating and recovering from rough terrain and unexpected disturbances. RoboCup 2023 is the ultimate showcase of a humanoid robot’s potential by playing a high-speed sport designed for humans, and ARTEMIS has demonstrated the skills necessary to beat the competition!
ARTEMIS walking on uneven terrain
ARTEMIS walking in the hallway
However, RoboCup is a team sport, and building and competing with two ARTEMIS units requires significant resources and funding. We are reaching out to the community to ask for your support in helping us achieve our goal. The donations we receive through this campaign will go directly towards covering the cost of building/repairing ARTEMIS and sponsoring our participation in RoboCup.
If you want robots to reach their full potential, we need your help to bring our robots out of the lab and into the real world. We want you to be part of shaping the future of robotics.
So what is this new technology that we are all excited about? Here’s a little background on how all of this stuff works…
Humanoid robots, intelligent machines that mimic the form and function of a human being, are conspicuously missing from our day-to-day lives, despite what pop culture has led many to believe. The reality is that humanoid robots have roots in the automation and manufacturing industries, meaning they excel at executing precise motions in controlled environments. However, current robot designs struggle with common tasks in the dynamic and complex environments that we humans live in. For a robot to exist and work in these spaces, it must be able to react to the environment, not just follow some predefined path.
Recently, RoMeLa has developed a new proprioceptive actuator that can grant dynamic output and feedback as human muscles do. This new actuator technology, called BEAR (Back-drivable Electric Actuator for Robotics), can be programmed to be stiff and precise, or to be loose and flexible on command, and can also sense the force being applied. This will allow ARTEMIS to run, jump, and kick with power and precision, and is exactly what a humanoid would need to dynamically traverse our busy human environments.
BEAR Actuator
Jumping test on a single motor
Be a part of the RoMeLa team and help us bring this dream to reality!
RoMeLa is a research lab within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UCLA consisting of roughly 30 student engineers, researchers, and innovators who have all come together under renowned roboticist Dr. Dennis Hong to push the limits of robotics. We are a passionate group of individuals with a wide range of interests and hobbies, but the one thing that brings us all together is robotics; in particular, the development of legged robotics technology that can assist people around the world. We don't just study robots; we build them from the ground up!
Previous humanoids made at RoMeLa: (left to right) DARwin-OP, CHARLI, THORRD, SAFFiR, and THOR
Other legged robots made by RoMeLa
We make robots with two, four, and even six legs, all in an attempt to take the world one step closer to the robotic future we all dreamed of as kids. And, while we work tirelessly on our robots to keep them in operational condition, it doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun every now and then.
The lab also actively participates in STEM outreach activities and is a strong advocate for promoting the STEM fields to the youth and general public. We regularly conduct lab demonstrations for youth groups and classes visiting UCLA, and even take the robots out of the lab from time to time for outreach events.
Join us and let's kick some balls together!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE UCLA FOUNDATION'S DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS FOR DONORS
Should this fund reach the campus minimum required for the establishment of an endowment or quasi-endowment, The UCLA Foundation reserves the right to convert this fund to an endowment or quasi-endowment. Please click here to learn more about how the UCLA Foundation invests and manages its endowments.
Every donation counts, thank you! (fully tax-deductible)
Every donation matters to us! Every time the robot is turned on, your name will be shown on the robot screen to honor your contribution! (fully tax-deductible)
As a token of our gratitude for your generous donation, we would like to offer you an exclusive virtual behind-the-scenes look at our lab and robot. You will receive a special virtual video that showcases the cutting-edge technology and research that your donation is helping to support. (fully tax-deductible)
Your $300 donation is so awesome that we will give you a personal shout-out in a video by one of the students on the RoMeLa Facebook page. We will also give you all of the previous perks. (fully tax-deductible)
You got the golden ticket! If you are in town, we invite you to come to visit our RoMeLa lab in Los Angeles where we will be giving you a tour and showing off all of our awesome robots. Along with the tour, we will gift you a special edition Romela t-shirt, plus all of the previous perks! (tax-deductible gift of $975)
Wow, $3,000 – you are awesome! To show our appreciation, we will treat you to a nice dinner in either Los Angeles or Seoul, South Korea where you can chat about everything robotics and more all evening with Dr. Hong. Plus you will receive a RoMeLa t-shirt, your name on the screen, a virtual lab tour, and a Facebook video shout-out! (tax-deductible gift of $2,915.66)
With a donation of $5,000, your name will be on the robot we bring to RoboCup 2023! On the back, armband, or any gear of the robot will be a plaque with all the names of anyone who donated more than $5,000. Plus you will get your name on the screen, the virtual lab tour, and a Facebook video shout-out. (fully tax-deductible)
A company sponsorship of $10,000 is so big that we want to put your company logo on this new robot and our RoMeLa website! (fully tax-deductible)