Robot Engineering, Application, and Learning Laboratory (REAL)

Directed by Co-PI Genda Chen

Housed in the CII, this laboratory is currently under development and will be completed by September 1, 2020. The laboratory has a floor area of approximately 45 m² and will support the development, application, and education of various types of robots, featuring robotic design, fabrication, testing, and demonstration. It will provide robotic support to interdisciplinary research and education within the mission of the CII. It will be equipped with an indoor multi-copter testing environment with motion capture camera systems, laptop computers, and machine shops. A fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will also be available for various projects for activities such as bridge inspections and ground surveillances. This lab will interact closely with the Missouri S&T MinerFly team, which provides general research and IT services to the campus-wide research community. Multi-copters have been designed and tested in laboratory (see Fig. 5).

Fig. 5 Testing of a Hybrid Flying and Traversing Multicopter for Surrounding Magnetic Field and System Dynamics during Mode Transition