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Flying high with the Penn Aerial Robotics club
A robotic aerial drone on Penn’s Locust Walk.

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Flying high with the Penn Aerial Robotics club

For more than a decade, Penn students have been building and competing with unmanned aerial vehicles. They unveil their latest creations, an autonomous drone-like tilt-rotor aircraft and a model plane, before they head to an international competition in Los Angeles this spring.

7 min. read

Q&A: Dean Kumar and the ‘drone’ sightings
Picture of a drone flying lit nighttime cityscape

For more than a month, residents in New Jersey, parts of Pennsylvania, and New York have spotted unidentified flying objects, which local residents refer to as “drones,” hovering over neighborhoods, critical infrastructure and even restricted sites. To learn more about the mysterious flying objects, Penn Today spoke with local expert Dean Vijay Kumar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

(Image: Courtesy of iStock/Naypong)

  • Q&A

    • Q&A: Dean Kumar and the ‘drone’ sightings

    Penn Engineering Dean Vijay Kumar discusses the mysterious flying objects, or “drones,” hovering around parts of the East Coast.
    Teaching robots common sense, empathy and other forms of intelligence
    A person programming a robotic arm with a laptop.

    Image: iStock/gorodenkoff

    Teaching robots common sense, empathy and other forms of intelligence

    Antonio Loquercio, an assistant professor in electrical and systems engineering, explores the potential that robots can have in answering fundamental questions on decision-making.

    Melissa Pappas

    Giving robots superhuman vision using radio signals
    (From left) Freddy Liu, Haowen Lai, and Mingmin Zhao, assistant professor in CIS, setting up a robot equipped with PanoRadar for a test run.

    (From left) Freddy Liu, Haowen Lai, and Mingmin Zhao, assistant professor in CIS, setting up a robot equipped with PanoRadar for a test run.

    (Image: Sylvia Zhang)

    Giving robots superhuman vision using radio signals

    Engineers have developed a new tool to transform simple radio waves into detailed, 3D views of the environment.

    Ian Scheffler

    Mastering physical contact with new algorithm for robots
    A robotic arm balancing a tray in a lab.

    The new algorithm allows the robotic arm to balance and move a waiter’s plastic tray, mastering control of a sliding object—a previously impossible task for robots.

    (Image: DAIR Lab)

    Mastering physical contact with new algorithm for robots

    Penn Engineers have developed an algorithm that makes previously impossible tasks possible for autonomous robots, like controlling the motion of a sliding object.

    Ian Scheffler

    Pioneering robotic triage
    remote controlled robotic vehicle

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    Pioneering robotic triage

    By combining the power of autonomous systems and medical expertise, a team of engineers and physician scientists from Penn are tackling the challenge of mass casualty triage.
    Racing to the future
    A small racecar in a makeshift track in Penn Engineering with student spectators.

    “Understanding the human factors and ethical implications of autonomous systems is just as crucial as the technical components,” says Mangharam. “This holistic approach aims to produce well-rounded engineers capable of addressing the multifaceted challenges of autonomous vehicle technology. Our goal is to equip them with the tools and mindset to tackle the challenges and opportunities of tomorrow.”

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    Racing to the future

    Rahul Mangharam’s scaled-down, self-driving race cars are revamping engineering education at Penn.