Robotics | Penn Today

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.

Technical.ly Philly

For a glimpse into the future, look at aerial robotics

An event about aerial robotics with the School of Engineering and Applied Science’s dean Vijay Kumar is featured.

Penn Medicine surgeons perform world’s first robotic breast reconstruction

A team of surgeons from the Perelman School of Medicine are the first in the world to use a surgical robot to assist with a bilateral free flap breast reconstruction, allowing for a minimally invasive procedure that enhances recovery and eliminates narcotics.

A flexible robot bends to climb a wooden staircase.

Designing autonomous robots that change shape to adapt to challenging environments

Researchers at Penn’s ModLab have developed SMORES-EP, a robotic system capable of giving machines increasing autonomy. A recent paper details their work.

Making extinct dinosaurs move to build better robots

Making fossils move to build better robots

Aja Carter, a Ph.D. candidate in paleontology, builds robots based on fossilized animals that crawled out of the sea about 300 million years ago. She’s pioneering a new field that she calls paleo-bio-inspired robotics.

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