The Robot Report

  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Exoskeletons
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Markets
    • Agriculture
    • Healthcare
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
    • Security
  • Investments
    • Funding
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Issues
    • Publications
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
      • Robotics Business Review
    • RBR50
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness Direct
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
  • Podcast

Inside University of Michigan’s new $75M robotics facility

By Steve Crowe | March 16, 2021

U-M Robotics Center

The University of Michigan (U-M) and Ford Motor Company today opened a $75 million, state-of-the-art robotics research center. The U-M Ford Motor Company Robotics Building brings together U-M researchers from 23 buildings and 10 top-10 programs.

As the new hub of the U-M Robotics Institute, its first three floors hold U-M research labs for robots that fly, walk, roll and augment the human body – as well as classrooms, offices and makerspaces. The fourth floor houses Ford’s first robotics and mobility lab at a university campus, as well as 100 Ford researchers and engineers.

“To me, this new building brings to life a collaborative, interdisciplinary community that I’m proud to host at Michigan Engineering. Our Robotics Institute upholds an explicitly inclusive climate and a culture that believes in the field’s potential to serve as an enabler for all, especially those who have previously been underserved,” said Alec D. Gallimore, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, the Richard F. and Eleanor A. Towner Professor of Engineering, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and a professor of aerospace engineering. “In this way, we aim to push the robotics field, and engineering more broadly, to become equity-centered—intentionally closing, rather than unintentionally expanding, societal gaps.”

Inside the labs

The goal of the 134,000-square-foot facility is to develop robots that help make lives better, keep people safe and build a more equitable society. Here’a a few highlights of labs included in the new facility:

  • A 30 MPH treadmill studded with obstacles and a stair-stepped “robot playground” to test two-legged robots
  • “Earthquake platforms” with force-feedback plates to develop lighter-weight, more efficient prosthetic legs.
  • Three-story fly zone to test drones and other autonomous aerial vehicles indoors, before moving to the adjacent outdoor M-Air research facility.
  • A Mars yard designed with input from planetary scientists at U-M to enable researchers and student teams to test rover and lander concepts on a landscape that mimics the Martian surface.
  • High-bay garage space for self-driving cars, located just down the road from the Mcity test facility, for putting connected and automated vehicles through their paces in simulated urban and suburban environments.

U-M is also home to the Aaron Friedman Marine Hydrodynamics Lab, a 360-foot-long indoor body of water for testing robotic and conventional watercraft, and the Space Physics Research Lab for developing and testing robotic spacecraft and instruments for deployment across the solar system.

Ford said the facility will be key to its development of technologies to disrupt transportation. On top of its autonomous vehicle research, Ford recently purchased the first two Digit bipedal robots from RBR50 company Agility Robotics. Ford is testing their ability to move goods. Ford is also testing Boston Dynamics’ Spot quadruped to scan plants and help update the original CAD model of the plants.

“Autonomous vehicles have the opportunity to change the future of transportation and the way we move,” said Tony Lockwood, technical manager, Autonomous Vehicle Research, Ford Motor Company. “As this new technology rolls out, having our Ford team working on campus collaborating with the academic world will help us shorten the time it takes to move research projects to automotive engineering, unlocking the potential of autonomous vehicles.”

You can explore a 3D model of the U-M Ford Motor Company Robotics Building using the tool below:

About The Author

Steve Crowe

Steve Crowe is Editor of The Robot Report and co-chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo. He joined WTWH Media in January 2018 after spending four-plus years as Managing Editor of Robotics Trends Media. He can be reached at [email protected]

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles Read More >

MIT RF Grasp
Radio frequency perception helps robot grasp hidden objects
Using tactile-based reinforcement learning for insertion tasks
Multiple drones move a single box
Small drones team up to carry heavy packages
Deep learning optimizes sensor placement for soft robots

End-of-Arm Tooling Issue

The Robot Report Listing Database

Latest Robotics News

Robot Report Podcast

The Evolution of RE2 Robotics

The Robot Report Podcast · The Evolution of RE2 Robotics

Sponsored Content

  • Why field-of-view matters
  • FORT Robotics Podcast: FORT Robotics on how to keep humans safe and in control of robots
  • IES servo control gripper
  • How to cut the cost of manufacturing
  • Analytics: Robotics’ untapped vein of business value

Tweets by RoboticTips

The Robot Report
  • Collaborative Robotics Trends
  • Field Robotics Forum
  • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
  • RoboBusiness Event
  • Robotics Business Review
  • Robotics Summit & Expo
  • About The Robot Report
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2021 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search The Robot Report

  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Exoskeletons
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Markets
    • Agriculture
    • Healthcare
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
    • Security
  • Investments
    • Funding
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Resources
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Issues
    • Publications
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
      • Robotics Business Review
    • RBR50
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness Direct
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
  • Podcast