Robotics Robotics Students in Professor Meressi's Robotics class get the opportunity to program actual robots. These computer controlled robots are capable of picking, placing and manipulating objects.
Students get hands on experience by working in small groups.
Although robots are essential components of today's automated manufacturing systems, future robots will find wider applications outside of a factory in banks, restaurants, homes and hazardous working environments such as nuclear stations. A robot must not only execute tasks programmed by the user but must also be able to interact with its environment through its sensors and actuators, sense and avoid unforeseen obstacles and perform its duties much the same way as humans. In order to make robots more valuable, engineers must be able to understand the design, dynamics and control of robots. Robotics is a senior level elective course that introduces students to the dynamics and control of robots. The classroom lectures are supplemented by laboratory experiments where students use computers to control the motion of instructional Rhino robots.