Michigan Robotics

Read what's been up recently, including: • 5 new concentrations for the undergrad robotics • An AI co-pilot for shipbuilders catching parts that don't fit • Ankle exoskeletons that drop joint torque 19% • A robotics lapel pin took a quick trip to space & a lot more!

What does a research administrator do? Glad you asked! youtube.com/watch?v=By3veC…

HIRING in ANN ARBOR: Lead Research Administrator $94k to 103k Manage a complex portfolio of pre- and post-award activities to power the research for Robotics faculty members. Read more and apply: careers.umich.edu/job_detail/279…

Thrilled to share that I'll be joining the University of Michigan as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2027! My lab will work on Robot Learning, Dexterous Manipulation, Robot Foundation Models & 3D Perception. I'm looking for students to join me. Please apply and reach out. (1/2)

I'll be joining @UMRobotics with an affiliation in CS (@UMichCSE). None of this would have been possible without my advisor @jiadeng , my mentors Dieter Fox and @abhishekunique7, and the constant love and support of my family. Thank you all! I can't wait to get started. More on what's next soon! (2/2)

Interested in doctoral programs in engineering, like robotics? Domestic students can apply to EMERGE for a funded trip to Ann Arbor to explore campus. See details and apply at emerge.engin.umich.edu

Our work was just published in IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine! We studied professional painters painting with a robot and then with another painter. Is it the same to create a painting with a robot compared to a human? What is different? 🧿 @ieeeras @UMRobotics

@lukas_m_ziegler Thanks for sharing Lukas! More courses from ROB 101 to ROB 530 here: robotics.umich.edu/academics/cour…

Math for robotics! 🧮 University of Michigan's graduate-level ROB 501 teaches applied mathematics for robotics engineers. All materials are free on GitHub: 26 lecture videos, textbook, notes, homework, exams. Taught by Jessy Grizzle (Director of @UMRobotics). Topics covered: cector spaces, matrix factorizations, least squares, Kalman filters, norms, convergence, Newton-Raphson, convexity, and linear programming. This is literally the mathematical foundation for perception (Kalman filters), control (convexity, optimization), and estimation. Every roboticist needs this. Format: 26 lectures with full videos on YouTube, textbook, lecture notes, recitations with answers, 10 homework assignments, 2 exams. Get it here for free: github.com/michiganroboti… ~~ ♻️ Join the weekly robotics newsletter, and never miss any news → ziegler.substack.com

Great fun being back on campus at @UMRobotics & @UMichMcity with @scsp_ai National Security Commission on Robotics for Advanced Manufacturing to learn & discuss workforce challenges & opportunities in drones/robotics. Go Blue!

Not quite the whole robotics curriculum yet, but we're trying! Adding new courses as we can: robotics.umich.edu/academics/cour… Thanks for sharing @IlirAliu_!

The paper, “SPPIRO: a Soft, Power-autonomous, Proprioceptive In-pipe Robot for adaptive inspection in complex pipeline environments,” was published in npj Robotics. Authors include Zexiong Chen, Xinqi Zhang, Jiaqi Wang, and Xiaonan Huang. Read more: robotics.umich.edu/news/2026/sppi…

An earthworm-inspired robot to inspect complex pipelines. “The design of the anchors allows the robot to move easily across pipes of varying diameters, as well as make turns, where a more rigid robot might be unable to maneuver,” said Zexiong Chen. Meet SPPIRO.

Read: umrobotics.substack.com/p/5-new-concen…

Read what's been up recently, including: • 5 new concentrations for the undergrad robotics • An AI co-pilot for shipbuilders catching parts that don't fit • Ankle exoskeletons that drop joint torque 19% • A robotics lapel pin took a quick trip to space & a lot more!

Register: umich.zoom.us/meeting/regist… Can't make June 9? Check out other sessions: grad.engin.umich.edu/admissions/rec…

Exploring graduate school? Perhaps in... robotics? Get info from a webinar on June 9 at 1pm. Learn about U-M Engineering grad programs, the application process, admissions requirements, deadlines, funding opportunities, and get your questions answered during a live Q&A session.

Hello @ieee_ras_icra ! We (@fluentrobotics) are in Vienna to present our new #ICRA2026 dataset paper Bi^3 to support research in social navigation, human motion prediction, and human-robot interaction. youtu.be/z55M_um_7fQ?si… via @YouTube

What sets physical robots apart from AI like ChatGPT? We explore the validity of virtual robots in HRI research in our Science Robotics paper. Huge congrats to Connor and Xin! Check out the article and full paper below @umsi @UMRobotics @BlackInRobotics si.umich.edu/about-umsi/new…

I got promoted to Associate Prof with tenure. I'm proud and grateful to have known and worked with my students, mentors, and colleagues; and special thanks to my family. I also joined @ToyotaResearch as Staff ML Engineer to work on interpretable AI and e2e autonomy. Excited...

ROB 550 Competition: MBot vs MBot... vs. MBot.. This is the class on fundamentals for robotics graduate students: sensing, reasoning, and acting.