Robotics | Penn Today

View of white garments hanging at the Designs for Different Futures exhibit, with a white shirt on a stand and a futuristic wheelchair and mechanical upright walking device on display.

Designs for what the future can be

The Philadelphia Museum of Art’s “Designs for Different Futures” exhibition includes contributions and installations from several Penn faculty and alumni who seek to answer questions about what the not-so-distant future may look like.

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.

Bots, biases, and binge watching: How AI shapes the modern world

A three-part series and podcast delves into the nuts and bolts of algorithms, legal and ethical questions, and ways artificial intelligence guides decision making.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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