In a world where humans and robots are increasingly co-existing, student researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) are working on projects to help humans better interact with their robotic partners, and to enable robots to be more capable, more efficient and more user-friendly human assistants. Here a student team has built a robot that can take visitors on a tour of a campus building.
With the first-of-its-kind bachelor’s degree in robotics engineering and one of the first such graduate programs in the nation, WPI is at the forefront of robotics education and research.
Our passion for robotics is evident in everything we do—we have a dedicated and enthusiastic faculty and staff along with strong industry connections; perform breakthrough research; provide hands-on work with robotic devices in our many state-of-the-art labs; prioritize space for experimentation; and foster competitive teams that routinely win national robotics awards. Our graduates leave well prepared to tackle the technical, social, cultural, and ethical challenges of a robotics workforce that remains dynamic and constantly changing.
We celebrated our 10-Year Anniversary on Tuesday October 22, 2019. You can see photos and videos from the research symposium here:
Launching to a Robotic Future: WPI Robotics Engineering 10-Year Anniversary Research Symposium
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Degrees & Certificates
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Robotic Recycling Centers
Assistant Professor Berk Calli and eight other researchers will use $2.5 million in funding from the National Science Foundation’s Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier program for the four-year project, which will include building a mock recycling line at WPI.
Safer, More Accurate Cancer Detection
Assistant Professor Haichong (Kai) Zhang received a five-year $1,869,423 Director's Early Independence Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for his ongoing work to create a robotic system that will detect and analyze three different indicators of prostate cancer.
Human-Robot Interaction in the Workplace
Anticipating a future of work that establishes a division of labor between humans and robotic technology, WPI robotics engineering researchers have secured a five-year, $3 million National Science Foundation grant focusing on research and training related to the adoption of robotic assistants in the workplace.
Announcements
February 06, 2020
School of Arts & Sciences
October 17, 2019
Robotics Engineering
News
The MQP team working on the landmine rover.
May 14, 2020
WPI’s Greg Fischer spearheading an effort to develop and share designs for creating ventilators.
April 01, 2020
WPI Assistant Professor Berk Calli will work with students on a project to develop robotics technologies for recycling centers. From left, James Akl, Fadi Alladkani, Arianna Kan, Kyle Heavey, Mikayla Fischler, Calli and Snehal Dikhale.
November 05, 2019
Media Coverage
Alex Wyglinski, professor of electrical and computer engineering, and robotics engineering, wrote a piece for the Hartford Courant on how critical 5G technology is to helping people whose work depends on the internet do their jobs better, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under Emerging Tech, Digital Trends interviewed Craig Putnam, associate director of robotics engineering, about the student-led project that is developing the autonomous rover and payload-deploying drone. The goal is to find and safely destroy hidden munitions that kill or maim as many as 20,000 people around the world each year. Putnam told Digital Trends, “the goal was to come up with a system that was as low cost as reasonably possible so that it could be afforded by some remote village that has a problem with land mines in the area.”
Implementing the First High School Robotics Competition
At the Albania Project center, WPI students have played a major role over the last few years in advancing Albania’s first high school robotics club. Most recently, students took the club a step further by introducing its members to one of WPI’s signature activities: the Savage Soccer robotics competition. Read more.
BS/MS Option
Students may opt to earn a BS/MS degree in robotics engineering in an accelerated time. The bachelor's degree can be in any major at WPI and the master's is in robotics engineering. Students interested in the program are encouraged to contact the Robotics Engineering Department for guidance about any undergraduate requirements for the program.