Robbie the robot passes UN inspection - Video

Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) meets "Robbie the Robot" developed for Cork teenager Joanne O'Riordan, who was born without limbs.

Robbie the Robot, a prototype robot built by researchers and engineering students in Trinity College Dublin for Cork teenager Joanne O'Riordan, who was born with a rare condition known as Total Amelia, was officially unveiled today.

In April 2012 Joanne O'Riordan addressed an audience of international delegates at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 'Girls in ICT Day' celebrations in New York and put forward a challenge for someone to build her a robot.

Assistant Professor Kevin Kelly in the School of Engineering, Trinity, and a team of young engineers took up this challenge.

Thanks to a generous donation of €50,000 from the ITU, the team built a prototype humanoid robot, with a head, arms, torso and a single 'leg' which uses two wheels to move around.

Speaking about the motivation behind the project, Assistant Professor Kelly said: "Anyone who saw Joanne's appearance on the Late Late Show in 2011 couldn't fail to be both impressed and inspired by her, and I was no different."

"However, it was her appearance at the UN conference that really compelled me to get involved."

"Firstly, by her presence alone she was inspiring young girls to consider technology or engineering as possible careers – something very dear to my heart, and that I've worked to encourage for many years now."

"And secondly, the research in autonomous robots and gripping technology that we were engaged in at Trinity seemed an ideal match for what Joanne was asking for."

"I got in touch with Joanne and her family and we began discussing how we could help."

ITU Secretary General, Dr Touré, who was behind the funding for this project said: "Joanne's courage and energy are formidable – and her enthusiasm for the power of information and communication technologies to help her overcome her challenges and engage with the world around her is truly inspiring.

ITU undertakes a lot of work in the areas of empowering young girls and promoting ICTs for accessiblity – but it took Joanne to show us all the vital importance of these efforts.

ITU is very proud indeed to have been a part of this pioneering project."

ITU Implores Iran To Stop Jamming EutelSat

The global regulator of satellite orbital slot and broadcast frequencies asked Iran to track down the source of intentional jamming of Eutelsat satellite signals that carry news broadcasts into Iran.

In a delicately worded statement apparently designed not to antagonize Iranian authorities, the Geneva-based International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said it accepted the findings of the French National Frequencies Agency concluding that the interference to Eutelsat signals, particularly those from the BBC reporting on Iranian politics, is coming from Iranian territory.

The French agency, on behalf of Paris-based Eutelsat, has written to Iran on multiple occasions in the past year asking that the interference cease. The ITU Radio Regulations Board also contacted Iran, whose administration responded that it did not know the source of the signal jamming, which has interfered with broadcasts from Eutelsat satellites located at four different orbital slots.

The BBC has moved its BBC Persian news broadcasts from one satellite to another in an attempt to find an orbital slot that permits broadcasts into Iran but makes it difficult for Iran-based jammers to interfere with the signal.

The ITU’s Radio Regulations Board concluded that “the interfering signals appear to be of a nature” that is forbidden under ITU rules and is originating in Iran “based on the measurements provided by the administration of France, and having confidence in the measurement techniques.”

The ITU, a United Nations affiliate, has little power to enforce its rulings. It depends on member nations to respect the regulations as a matter of good faith in the general interest of maximizing the use of the radio spectrum and satellite orbital positions.

The ITU said it “urged the administration of Iran to continue its effort in locating the source of interference and to eliminate it as a matter of the highest priority.” It said it has asked the French administration and its own Radiocommunication Bureau “to assist the administration of Iran in identifying the source of the interference.”

Eutelsat has been telling French authorities for months about the interference, and the 27-nation European Union has urged Iran to stop it.