Research

The field of robotics is undergoing revolutionary change, which will impact all aspects of our society. These advances, driven by highly collaborative and interdisciplinary research, will allow robots to perform tasks not suited for humans, to work safely in close proximity and in collaboration with humans, and to operate safely and effectively in natural human environments.

Michigan faculty and graduate students pursue fundamental research topics spanning the fields of perception (computer vision, audition, haptics, and multi-modal sensor integration), cognition (knowledge representation, probabilistic and logical inference, machine learning, etc.), and actuation (motion planning and control for mobile robots and manipulators, compliant actuation and control for safe collaboration with humans, dextrous manipulation, etc.). Some researchers focus on specific capabilities such as motion planning, mechanics, or machine learning, while others explore the integration of systems, enabling capabilities such as SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) or applications such as autonomous vehicles and multi-vehicular ground/air/underwater control.