Robotics is at the forefront at the new Institute at TU Delft
TU Delft officially celebrated the launch of its new Robotics Institute on 25 January 2013 with a daylong symposium.
Over 200 attendees attended the event, including Institute students, faculty and staff, industry leaders and representatives from other universities. The Robotics Institute is one of the institutes within TU Delft.
For the past two years, professors from six different faculties have been working together to realize the dream of the institute. “Our main goal is to create an environment where people can collaborate together…this will help us bring results from the lab to the industry,” said Professor Robert Babuska. Sixteen chaired professors and over 70 researchers are currently affiliated with the new institute. Additionally, the group boasts close connection with the robotics industry. They already work closely with start-up companies at YES!Delft and collaborate with industry partners throughout the Netherlands and beyond.
“We are currently writing joint proposals for grants and collaborating with companies. The new Institute allows us to have a single point of contact within the university for all robotics projects,” explained Professor Babuska. For the past two years, the institute has been offering a new minor in robotics. Participating students work in multidisciplinary teams to develop and build a robot.
The new Robotics Institute has three primary themes of focus: robots that work, swarm robots and interactive robots. “Robots that work” covers those that will interact with people in a human environment. This goes beyond the idea of robots on an assembly line and moves towards the idea of collaboration and true integration. “Robots could automate the heavy work or repetitive tasks and leave the fine work to humans,” said Professor Babuska. “Swarm robots” work together in a team. They are useful for things such as search and rescue, surveillance and monitoring traffic. They can communicate with one another and share information. “Interactive robots” physically interact with people, such as robots working in the healthcare industry. These robots can assist with rehabilitation or aid persons with disabilities.
The event featured prestigous speakers from various segements of the robotics industry. Darwin G. Caldwell discussed technology updates to the Compliant huMANoid robot COMAN. Enrico Dini talked about the use of robotics in 3D printing. Finally, Maarten Steinbuch will discussed the role of the Netherlands in advancing the field of robotics.
For more information visit robotics.tudelft.nl
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