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About Michigan Robotics

Our mission

Work together. Create smart machines. Serve society.

Michigan Robotics creates and leads innovative initiatives and robust programs that elevate outcomes for both robotics and roboticists in research, academics, and society.

Key Facts

  • Originated as the Robotics Institute in 2014
  • Ford Robotics Building completed in 2021
  • First undergraduate robotics major among top-ten engineering schools in 2022
  • $7.8M in research expenditures in 2023
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Academics

Undergraduate

167 current robotics majors

16 alumni

Graduate

371 current Master's and PhD students

Program started in 2014

Robotics courses

12 new undergraduate robotics courses

Several courses freely available online

Research focus areas

Artificial Intelligence research Artificial Intelligence
Autonomous & Connected Vehicles research Autonomous & Connected Vehicles
Deep Learning for Robotics research Deep Learning for Robotics
Human-Robot Interaction research Human-Robot Interaction
Legged Robots & Exoskeletons research Legged Robots & Exoskeletons
Manufacturing Robotics research Manufacturing Robotics
Motion Planning research Motion Planning
Perception & Manipulation research Perception & Manipulation
Rehabilitation Robotics research Rehabilitation Robotics
Safe Autonomy research Safe Autonomy
SLAM research SLAM
Teams & Swarms research Teams & Swarms

Impact and innovation

Open-source projects

Michigan researchers regularly publish and share their work with the community, including:

  • MBot: an educational robot platform, more than 300 of are used by our undergrad and grad students
  • Open-Source Leg: a bionic prosthetic leg
  • Data sets: from underwater sonar scans to pedestrian paths for autonomous vehicles
Open-Source Projects

Engagement

We partner with industry, academic, and community organizations through research collaborations, recruiting, and student projects.

Academic & community partners

Our corporate engagement pathways range from sponsoring student teams to establishing research centers.

Industry engagement

Faculty-Led Spin-offs

  • May Mobility: Driverless transit in communities
  • Voxel51: Computer vision data and modeling
  • Refraction AI: Automated last-mile delivery
  • Precision 3D: Advanced printing
  • NewHaptics: Haptic display for the blind

The University of Michigan has a long history of developing innovative solutions and products through Innovation Partnerships.

View new projects

Leadership

Dawn Tilbury
Robert Gregg
Jessy Grizzle
Brent Gillespie
Mark Draelos
Leia Stirling

The Robotics Department is led by the Executive Committee: Dawn Tilbury, Department Chair (ex-officio); Robert Gregg; Jessy Grizzle; Brent Gillespie, Associate Director of Graduate Studies; Mark Draelos; Leia Stirling, Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies (ex-officio).

Contact Us

Have questions about Michigan Robotics? We'd love to hear from you.

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