EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9, 2015

EVENT: Robotics Day, a conference with demos and discussions of leading-edge research and development in the robotics field in Southeast Michigan. The region is one of the nation’s most robust robotics research hubs. Representatives from universities, industry and government will participate. Highlights include:

• 10:30 a.m. panel discussion on how drone technology could transform Michigan, with Lt. Chris Bush of the Michigan State Police, Steve Hanes of the Federal Aviation Administration, Ella Atkins, U-M associate professor of aerospace engineering, and representatives from several companies commercializing unmanned aerial vehicles.
• 2:30 p.m. panel discussion on powered prosthetic limbs, with Deanna Gates, U-M assistant professor of kinesiology and biomedical engineering, and Cindy Chestek, U-M assistant professor of biomedical engineering.
• 9:30 a.m. talk by Craig Stephens, chief engineer for controls in Ford Research & Advanced Engineering. Stephens will discuss the role robotics will play in changing transportation—from the factory floor to the products themselves. He’ll discuss the robots involved in building the company’s new F-150 pickup truck as well as Ford’s collaboration with U-M to advance automated vehicles.
• 11:15 a.m. talk by John Leonard, professor of mechanical and ocean engineering at MIT, titled “Navigation and Mapping for Self-Driving Robotic Vehicles.” Leonard will discuss some of the challenges still ahead in developing automated vehicles.

PLACE: North Campus Research Complex, Building 18, 2800 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor

REGISTRATION: To register, email Nicole Casal Moore at [email protected].

INFORMATION: Robotics Day agenda: myumi.ch/LrMPa. Robotics Day links research and education in national hub: myumi.ch/J2396

SPONSORS: U-M College of Engineering and National Center for Manufacturing Sciences