Robotics is on the rise at Michigan Tech. And with state-of-the-art facilities and bright undergrad and grad students engaged with Robotics, it was inevitable.
Now, faculty are banding together at MTU to form a large interdisciplinary robotics research group to enhance robotics research and education on campus. Led by Dr. Jung Yun Bae, the robotics initiative will unite faculty, students, and facilities across diverse application domains.
Until now, robotics has had several homes on campus. MTRI has maintained a Robotics and Autonomy project area. Several faculty-led labs have existed and continue strong across campus (BrainX, IRoSOL, RRSL). Students could gain hands-on experience in these labs, in class, in student enterprises, and even in the Alley Makerspace.
The Robotics Engineering Bachelor’s degree was introduced in the 2020 Spring semester, and the Mechatronics program rolled out its degree options in 2021. Mechatronics is a highly interdsiciplinary aspect of robotics, merging computer science with mechanical and electrical engineering. This cross-disciplinary interaction helped lay the groundwork for the robotics scene to grow at MTU and to diversify the research backgrounds of the student base engaging in robotics on campus.
The faculty members within the ICC’s Center for Cyber-Physical Systems, Center for AI, and Center for Human-Centered Computing have undertaken robotics research through proposals submitted by members, but even within the ICC, there wasn’t a dedicated group to unite robotics on campus.
That’s where the Robotics Initiative plans to step in, and we hope to see you at the Rollout lunch on January 27 @ Noon in the MUB Alumni Lounge!
(left to right) Dr. Myoungkuk Park, Dr. Vinh Nguyen, Dr. Jung Yun Bae