Students and faculty from the University of Notre Dame’s College of Engineering hosted an April event at the Morris Inn, on the South Bend campus, to commemorate National Robotics Week. The free event was designed to attract students and families in the community and reflect a shared interest in robotics.
One of the most popular exhibits was the DISCOVER Laboratory, with a team captained by Hai Lin, a professor in Notre Dame’s electrical engineering department. The exhibit featured several robots that were programmed to move based on different signals. Most of the children in attendance were amazed by a flying quad-rotor, remote-controlled helicopter that moved in both direction and altitude by following the position of a yellow ball. Kids lined up and took turns moving the ball around the room, watching the quad-rotor helicopter follow.
Another impressive exhibit was the Locomotion and Biomechanics Laboratory, headed by Prof. Jim Schmiedeler of the mechanical engineering department. The site featured a set of small humanoid robots that could walk, recognize a ball and kick it while remaining balanced. If the robots did happen to fall, they were able to recognize their positions and prop themselves back upright using their arms and legs.
Other exhibits included robots that could react to color, robots that would follow signals from pre-established and adjustable maze patterns, robots that played catch with toy balls and footballs, and even more in-depth exhibits explaining the sciences behind how robots are programmed to see and react to the world around them.
National Robotics Week in the United States falls during April, and various organizations and universities in all 50 states participate. According to the official website of the initiative, the purpose of the event is to “celebrate the U.S. as a leader in robotics technology development, educate the public about how robotics technology impacts society… and inspire students of all ages to pursue careers in robotics and other science, technology, engineering and math-related fields.”
For Notre Dame, this is their 3rd Annual National Robotics Week Event, celebrated a few weeks after the actual National Robotics Week in order to comply with student semester schedules. While many of the robots use advanced technology, their presentations were meant to be fun and family-friendly.
Notre Dame is a leading university in engineering and technological development, and the annual National Robotics Week Event is a great opportunity for the university to showcase their students’ abilities. For more information about the event, you can visit the engineering department website.
