Robotics and Autonomous Systems Teaching and Innovation Center (RASTIC)

Photos by Mike Spencer

Called a ‘playroom’ for engineering students, the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Teaching and Innovation Center (RASTIC) will be a research space for engineering undergraduate and graduate students focused on robotics and autonomous solutions.

RASTIC will allow students to explore a number of applications for their projects through spaces specially designed for robotics research. The lab will feature motion-capture cameras to track ground robots and send them navigation information, netting to protect drones being tested, a space dedicated to next-gen autonomous robots, such as self-driving vehicles and search-and-rescue robots, a miniature city that allows for testing of self-driving systems, and a soft robotics space where robots with medical applications can be developed.

With this new lab space, the College of Engineering will be able to more than quadruple its master’s degree students in robotics. Previously, the program simply did not have the capacity to support the additional students and their research. Besides the research and development work engineering students will be doing, the college plans for the lab to host a K-12 tech scholars program, and be a space where students can engage with industry leaders, possibly meeting sponsors to back their projects.