Robotics

a legged robot walks down a mine past a dummy wearing a yellow vest and a red backpack that is hanging from a metal fence nearby

Robots to the rescue

Penn researchers created a fleet of robots to navigate unknown underground environments as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Subterranean Challenge.

Erica K. Brockmeier ・

robot arm holding a cup of coffee

The brain in the machine

Insights into how computers learn, the current challenges of artificial intelligence research, and what the future holds for how machines might shape society in the future.

Erica K. Brockmeier ・

david saldana behind a table of his modular flying robots in front of a white board of equations and a TV screen

GRASP Lab’s high-flying robots

Postdoctoral researcher David Saldaña is working on algorithms and designs for autonomous airborne robots which can link together, break apart, and work together to complete tasks.

Gina Vitale Erica K. Brockmeier ・

two people working on a set of robotic legs

Bipedal robot navigates the future

Thanks to Cassie, a cutting-edge two-legged robot, engineer Michael Posa has an ideal platform for tackling the challenges of locomotion.

Gwyneth K. Shaw

a large group of people in front of the Franklin Institute building with a science demonstration (with smoke and the aftermath of an explosion that caused colored balls to fly into the air) in the foreground

Philadelphia: The new city of science

Penn researchers will be involved in a weeklong series of interactive activities and events across the city as part of the Philadelphia Science Festival.

Erica K. Brockmeier ・

Time lapse photo of green circle shows a progressively larger cleared off area where a robot has removed a biofilm

An army of microrobots can wipe out dental plaque

A swarm of microrobots, directed by magnets, can break apart and remove dental biofilm, or plaque, from a tooth, thanks to a partnership led by Dental Medicine’s Hyun (Michel) Koo and Engineering’s Edward Steager.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・

view of Amy Gutmann on stage from the audience at the Power of Penn event with a large video screen behind her showing a video

The Power of Penn at the Met

One year into the Power of Penn campaign, President Amy Gutmann hosted a panel discussion with three professors to usher in another year of inclusion, innovation, and impact on a local and global scale.

Tina Rodia ・



In the News


Interesting Engineering

Superhuman vision lets robots see through walls, smoke with new LiDAR-like eyes

Mingmin Zhao of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues are using radio signals to allow robots to “see” beyond traditional sensor limits.

FULL STORY →

The Architect’s Newspaper

A sculptural foam installation demonstrates the promise of a new technology-focused degree at Penn

Graduate students in a new robotics and fabrication program at the Weitzman School of Design, under the guidance of Andrew Saunders, have installed a large-scale sculptural wall in the atrium of the Middletown, Pennsylvania, Free Library.

FULL STORY →

Technical.ly Philly

These Philly profs working on VR education, deepfake spotters, and tiny robots make predictions for next-gen tech

Mark Miskin of the School of Engineering and Applied Science is using tools from the semiconductor industry to develop nanotechnologies for microscopic robots.

FULL STORY →

Technical.ly Philly

Artists and Penn Ph.D.s collabed to explore the intersection of art and engineering. Check out their exhibit

In the culminating project of Penn’s Robotics Art Residency, three artists hosted at the Pennovation Center developed collaborative exhibits with Ph.D. students at the GRASP Lab of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Weitzman School of Design.

FULL STORY →

Physics World

Liquid crystals bring robotics to the microscale

In collaboration with the University of Ljubljana, Kathleen Stebe of the School of Engineering and Applied Science has built a swimming microrobot that paddles by rotating liquid crystal molecules.

FULL STORY →

The New York Times

The long road to driverless trucks

Steve Viscelli of the School of Arts & Sciences comments on the complexities and uncertainties of the emerging self-driving truck industry.

FULL STORY →