Robotics Engineering Prof. Michael Gennert Robotics Engineering Program Director Fall 2016
Robotics Education Gap Robotics Research Robotics Engineering Industrial Robotics Technology PhD @ Large Research University AA, AS @ Community College Making useful robots, Making robots useful 2
Motivation for Robotics Major Growth in importance of Robotics o Supply: Push of tech capability o Demand: Pull of needs & applications K-12 interest in Robotics o Offer students what they want Great fit for WPI o Strong CS, ECE, ME o Project-based curricula o FIRST Team 190 tradition Leadership & cost 3
Just do it! 2006 Planning Committee & Advisory Board Approved by Depts, Faculty, Trustees 2007 BS Hoped for 15-20 students, got 80 2009 MS 2011 PhD 4
Our Vision for Robotics Become an Exemplary, nationally recognized, Multidisciplinary center for Education, research, and innovation in Robotics
Electrical & Computer Engineering David Cyganski Jim Duckworth Jie Fu Fred Looft Bill Michalson Alex Wyglinski Mechanical Engineering Holly Ault Toby Bergstrom Chris Brown Raghvendra Cowlagi Michael Demetriou Greg Fischer Cosme Furlong Allen Hoffman Jane Li Cagdas Onal Physics Marko Popovic Faculty Computer Science Mike Ciaraldi Eugene Eberbach Mike Gennert Carlo Pinciroli Craig Putnam Chuck Rich Candy Sidner Robotics Engineering (non-department) Nick Bertozzi Ken Stafford Social Science & Policy Studies Jeanine Skorinko Humanities & Arts Scott Barton Robotics Resource Center (non-faculty) Brad Miller Colleen Shaver
Goals o BS o MS Goal: Educate engineers for 21 st century Grow robotics industry: Supply talent, Start companies Goal: Technical Leadership Expand robotics industry: Systems thinking o PhD Goal: Research Leadership Advance robotics: Knowledge, Capabilities People Systems, Products Research
Key Ideas o Multidisciplinary: CS / ECE / ME o Spiral Curriculum: Intro to Robotics Unified Robotics I-IV Actuation, Sensing, Manipulation, Navigation o Social Implications o Entrepreneurship & the enterprising engineer o Project-based o New-fangled & old-fashioned engineering It s never Not my job!
Principles o Clearly articulated objectives o Broadly-based o Flexible o 4 years o Consistent w/ WPI educational philosophy o Accreditable
Courses Undergraduate RBE1001 Intro to Robotics RBE2001 Unified 1: Actuation RBE2002 Unified 2: Sensing RBE3001 Unified 3: Manipulation RBE3002 Unified 4: Navigation ME/RBE4322 Mechatronics ME/RBE4815 Industrial Automation Graduate RBE500 Foundations ME/RBE501 Dynamics RBE502 Robotic Control ME5204/RBE510 Multi-Robot Sys RBE520 Biomechanics & Robotics CS/RBE526 Human-Robot Interaction CS/RBE549 Computer Vision RBE550 Motion Planning ME5205/RBE580 Biomedical Robotics RBE594 RBE595 Capstone Proj Experience Special Topics Adv. Robot Navigation Adv. Robotic Parallel & Walking Mechanisms Deep Learning for Adv. Robotic Perception Formal Methods in Robotics Smart Materials & Actuation Soft Robotics Space & Planetary Robotics
Undergraduate Curriculum Other Courses Intro Courses CS, ECE, ME Unified Robotics 1-4 Power, Sensing, Manipulation, Navigation Advanced Courses Senior Capstone Project
Graduate Curriculum Systems Engineering or Manag t Foundations of Robotics Robot Dynamics Robot Control Advanced Courses Capstone Design: MS Thesis/Project/Practicum Additional Courses/Research/ PhD Dissertation MS PhD
Enrollment 600 500 400 RBE MS, PhD RBE BS 300 200 100 0 AY 06-07 AY 07-08 AY 08-09 AY 09-10 AY10-11 AY 11-12 AY 12-13 AY 13-14 AY 14-15 AY 15-16 AY 16-17 13
RBE Undergraduate Lab
MQPs
The Robotics Industry The epicenter of Robotics is in New England. --Helen Greiner (irobot, CyPhy Works) New England, and Massachusetts in particular, houses a strong and growing Robotics industry. Sales exceed $2 billion Employ 2,500 in Massachusetts 40% companies are startups or less than 6 years old Average annual growth rate 47% 90% of all hires are local hires 70% plan to hire in next 1 2 years
Jobs & Internships
Sensing & Manipulation Robotics Research Human-Robot Interaction Biomedical Robotics Autonomy & Navigation Manufacturing Assistive Robotics Odometry & Mapping Soft Robotics
WPI Robotics: Then and now 2006 2016 Courses 1 20 Labs 1 10 Faculty 1 12 core + 19 assoc Students 0 ~360 undergrad ~160 graduate ~400 alumni Degrees - BS, MS (+ online), PhD, minor, grad certificate Research - Funded by DARPA, AFRL, ONR, NIH, NSF, NASA, Industry
How to Win with Academic Progs Academic Merit Business Merit Politics No Champion, No Project. No Exceptions. - SRI CEO Curt Carlson
Lessons Learned o Robotics is a viable major o Attracts top students, faculty o Graduates winners o Must collaborate & communicate o Curriculum is challenging, fundamentally sound o Administration support is critical o Accreditable by ABET o Be bold o Robotics is Awesome!
robotics.wpi.edu