Robotics

Our experts are creating the next generation of robotics for human interaction across disciplines.

Robotics

Bioinspired robotics

Natural organisms have amazing abilities that inspire the field of robotics. Our researchers are investigating how we can replicate a leafhopper’s jump in a robot, what we can learn from the way cockroaches move, and how we can create robots and biohybrid robotic systems that are as robust and adaptable as animals.

Faculty involved: Sarah Bergbreiter, Aaron Johnson, Victoria Webster-Wood, Inseung Kang, Ophelia Bolmin

Robots that walk, run, jump, creep, roll, and fly

Researchers explore legged robotics to design better controllers for stable, energy efficiency, fast locomotion as well as the ability to reliably travel over unstructured terrain - like the moon.

Our faculty are creating technologies for infrastructure inspection, aerial load transportation, agricultural monitoring, and autonomous point-to-point flight.

Faculty involved: Sarah Bergbreiter, Aaron Johnson, Kenji Shimada, Inseung Kang

Micro robotics and biomedical applications

Through multidisciplinary collaboration, our faculty are fabricating magnetic micro swimming robots assembled from DNA nanostructures, controlling robots that walk on water and climb walls with nano-fiber adhesives, and designing devices for microsurgery.

Faculty involved: Sarah Bergbreiter, Burak Ozdoganlar, Rebecca Taylor, Victoria Webster-Wood, Inseung Kang, Ophelia Bolmin, Eni Halilaj

Assistive robotics and wearables

Wearable robotic systems can have a transformative impact on human mobility. Our researchers are developing robotic exoskeletons for clinical populations and building portable systems for precision rehab. By combining data from wearable sensors with artificial intelligence they are trying to understand what movement patterns are associated with disease progression.

Faculty involved: Eni Halilaj, Inseung Kang

Learn more...."Precision rehabilitation to prevent osteoarthritis"

Special tasks: Human help

Whether it's maneuvering through debris after a hurricane, or helping a person with physical limitations chop vegetables, robots can perform tasks that are difficult and dangerous for people.

Faculty involved: Amir Barati Farimani, Aaron Johnson, Kenji Shimada, Ding Zhao , Inseung Kang, Eni Halilaj

People

Learn who in Mechanical Engineering is working in advanced manufacturing.

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The world’s smallest, fastest, power-autonomous biped robot Opens in new window

At less than 1.5 inches tall, the latest bipedal robot from Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering can navigate smaller spaces than any other two-legged robot in the world.

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Engineering beneath the surface Opens in new window

Students build an autonomous underwater vehicle that can perform tasks important to the maritime industry, including exploring, detecting, and manipulating objects and deploying projectiles underwater.

Robotics for environmental innovation Opens in new window

A team of Carnegie Mellon University researchers is seeking to understand how robotics can help engineers address environmental challenges, such as monitoring affected soils.

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New moves for self-defense: How plants can inspire future Softbotic design Opens in new window

Complex and sophisticated, a plant’s mechanical systems could be the key to more advanced biohybrid softbotic designs.

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Carnegie Mellon core partner in new center to improve robot dexterity selected to receive up to $52 million Opens in new window

Carmel Majidi will lead a research thrust in a new multi-institutional collaboration to launch an NSF ERC dedicated to revolutionizing the ability of robots to amplify human labor.

It’s an ant… it’s a robot… it’s Picotaur! The unrivaled micro robot Opens in new window

Researchers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University have created the first legged robot of its size to run, turn, push loads and climb miniature stairs.

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Sea slugs: what can we learn from them? Opens in new window

Studying Aplysia californica, or sea slugs, can tell us a lot about neuromuscular systems and open up avenues for more controlled animal experiments.

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Manipulation technology makes home-helper robot possible Opens in new window

New locomotion and manipulation technology from Ding Zhao’s lab will enable four-legged robots to lend a hand in the not-so-distant future.

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RoboTool enables creative tool use in—you guessed it—robots Opens in new window

Large language models enable robots to “brainstorm” creative tool use and perform seemingly impossible tasks.

Drones CAN navigate dynamic environments Opens in new window

Novel drone navigation technology developed by Kenji Shimada was put to the test in an active Japanese tunnel construction site, enabling drones to approximate where a collision may occur and prevent it.

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Big picture, small robot Opens in new window

A team of mechanical engineering researchers create “Mugatu,” the first steerable bipedal robot with only one motor.

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Chop, chop: Improving food prep with the power of AI Opens in new window

Researchers at CMU combined two vision foundational models—models trained on large visual data sets—to help a robot arm recognize the shape and the type of fruit and vegetable slices.

Dowd Fellowship encourages ambitious student research Opens in new window

Four Ph.D. students in the College of Engineering have received funding to pursue research on valuable, relatively unexplored topics.

450-million-year-old organism finds new life in Softbotics Opens in new window

Researchers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering used fossil evidence to engineer a soft robotic replica of pleurocystitids, a marine organism that existed nearly 450 million years ago and is believed to be one of the first echinoderms capable of movement using a muscular stem.

A new course for prosthetics care Opens in new window

Between his studies, a teaching opportunity, and nonprofit work, mechanical engineering Ph.D. student Jonathan Shulgach looks to reimagine the experience of receiving medical care by bringing patients closer to the process.

Tricky tangles: Robots learn to navigate vine-like vegetation Opens in new window

CMU researchers develop technology that enables four-legged robots to walk through vine-like vegetation.

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Student works on tiny bio robots Opens in new window

Lameck Beni, an undergraduate student in mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, conducted research on small biodegradable robots that have important medical applications.

So tricky, a robot can do it Opens in new window

Carnegie Mellon Researchers have taken inspiration from geckos to create a material that adheres to wet and dry surfaces, even on an incline.

Virtual reality partners become real world neighbors Opens in new window

In July, the YKK AP Technologies Lab opened at Mill 19. Their focus on the development of a virtual factory is well aligned with the digital twin work underway at the Manufacturing Futures Institute.

Training robotic arms with a hands-off approach Opens in new window

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University recently trained a robotic arm with human movements generated by artificial intelligence.

Now printing: seaweed-based, biodegradable actuators Opens in new window

We are one step closer to naturally compostable robots now that researchers at Carnegie Mellon can print actuators using a bio-ink made from seaweed.

Grasshopping robots made possible with new, improved latch control Opens in new window

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have made grasshopping robots possible by uncovering that latches can mediate energy transfer between robotic jumpers and the environment that they are jumping from.

Multi-university team building actuators for next gen bio-bots Opens in new window

Multi-university team, led by Mechanical Engineering’s Vickie Webster-Wood, is building actuators for next generation sustainable bio-bots.

Engineering breakthrough in softbotics Opens in new window

Introducing the first soft material that can maintain a high enough electrical conductivity to support power hungry devices.

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Gwen’s Girls partnership fosters children’s interest in robomechanics Opens in new window

A student-driven partnership between Aaron Johnson’s RoboMechanics lab and Gwen’s Girls has introduced nearly 100 grade school girls to engineering design and robotics.

Big steps for mini robots Opens in new window

Aaron Johnson’s Robomechanics Lab tested spherical foot designs to find the best fit so their biped robot with 15-cm legs could walk steadily.

Jon Cagan named head of Mechanical Engineering Opens in new window

Jon Cagan will be the new head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, effective November 1, 2022.

Hydrogels pave way for future of soft robotics Opens in new window

Wenhuan Sun, Victoria Webster-Wood, and Adam Feinberg have created an open-source, commercially available fiber extruder to benefit future research with hydrogels and soft robotics.

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A cooler side to soft robotics Opens in new window

Researchers combined liquid crystal elastomers with a thermoelectric device to develop a stretchable transducer for soft robotics.

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Robots that can learn to safely navigate warehouses Opens in new window

Advances in chips, sensors, and AI algorithms are enabling robots to continuously learn how to plan routes, avoid obstructions, and operate safely in large dynamic warehouse environments.

Students’ ingenuity automates scientific research Opens in new window

In an effort to modernize scientific research, CMU students used only commercial parts and the cardboard boxes they came in to build a modular robot able to autonomously conduct experiments.

Tuning synthetic collagen threads for biohybrid robots Opens in new window

Researchers in Victoria Webster-Wood’s Biohybrid and Organic Robotics Group are using techniques from tissue engineering to refine tendon-like collagen threads for a new generation of robots.

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Innovative ink for stretchable circuits

A collaboration with CMU-Portugal introduces a unique printable ink that allowed, for the first time, digital printing of multi-layer stretchable circuits, e-skins, and adhesive medical patches for electrophysiological monitoring.

Rocket girl Opens in new window

Alumna Maggie Scholtz is co-founder and vice president of engineering at First Mode, a Seattle-based engineering firm focused on tackling challenging problems on Earth and throughout the solar system.

Bringing students into the next industrial revolution Opens in new window

Students taking a new course combine rapidly expanding technologies to create innovative solutions for real societal problems.

Biomechanics for teens

National Biomechanics Day is a worldwide celebration that strives to bring the complex world of biomechanics to high school students through hands-on activities, demonstrations, and Q&A sessions with real-world professionals.

Tailing new ideas Opens in new window

Aaron Johnson’s Robomechanics Lab is looking to nature for robotic tail designs that make orientation tasks easier for moving robots.

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Virtually awarded

MechE graduate students earned accolades at the department’s annual research symposium poster sessions. This year's events were virtual through Gather Town, an interactive, video-chat world.

Under the sea Opens in new window

A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon’s Soft Machines Lab has created a soft robot inspired by the quick and agile brittle star, the first mobile and untethered underwater crawling robot.

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Making mechanical skin Opens in new window

These 3D printed circuits are self-healing, re-writable, and energy-harvesting, thanks to liquid metal.

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Sea slugs to provide clues in understanding the brain Opens in new window

As the co-principal investigator on an NSF NeuroNex project, Victoria Webster-Wood will investigate the impact of neuromodulators on muscle actuation and modeling biological motor control in engineering frameworks.

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At home with research

Despite the coronavirus shutdown, researchers and students were creative about continuing their work and joining the fight against COVID-19.

Installing windows with help from robots Opens in new window

Kenji Shimada is working on a collaboration with YKK AP to create high-tech window installation robots.

We have a Wimmer

As a 2020-2021 Wimmer Faculty Fellow, Victoria Webster-Wood plans to design interactive demonstrations and to build virtual labs for the course “Gadgetry: Sensors, Actuators, and Processors.”

Johnson received NSF CAREER Award Opens in new window

Aaron Johnson has been awarded a CAREER award by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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First real-time physics engine for soft robotics Opens in new window

Collaborators have adapted the sophisticated computer graphics technology used in blockbuster films and video games to simulate the movements of soft, limbed robots for the first time.

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Making tracks in the desert Opens in new window

Catherine Pavlov, a Ph.D. candidate in mechanical engineering, traveled to the Atacama Desert to conduct experiments she modeled that aim to gain non-grasping functionality from space rovers.

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Almost natural

A step closer to integrated artificial muscle and nervous tissue, researchers develop an intelligent, shape-morphing, and self-healing material for soft robotics and wearable electronics.   

Giving robots a “nose” Opens in new window

A team of CMU researchers are developing soft robots that sense and respond to chemicals.

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An elegant solution to the soft sensing challenge Opens in new window

Carmel Majidi’s team has developed a soft magnetic skin with a single sensing element that detects force and contact.

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Run, robot, run! Opens in new window

Soft robots can mimic a critter’s scurry, thanks to shape memory alloy actuators.

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Using drones in agriculture and irrigation Opens in new window

Professor of Mechanical Engineering Kenji Shimada and his team of researchers are using drone technology to help detect and restore damaged water canals in Japan that are critical for the agricultural economy.

From bioinspired to biohybrid

Victoria Webster-Wood uses organic materials to build robotic devices for future applications in medicine and environmental science.

Merging microsystems and robotics

Sarah Bergbreiter develops ant-sized robots and microsystems in the Department Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Merging microsystems and robotics

Sarah Bergbreiter develops ant-sized robots and microsystems in the Department Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University.

Circuit, heal thyself! Opens in new window

When punctured or torn, this material’s circuits can autonomously—and instantaneously—heal themselves to remain fully operational.

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Invisible, stretchable circuits

Next-generation technologies for wearable computing, soft bioelectronics, and biologically-inspired robotics will require transparent conductors that are soft, elastic, and highly stretchable. Majidi's team is developing these invisible circuits.

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Robotics Institute

The Robotics Institute

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Learn more about the Robotics Institute.