Robotics grows at Tufts, Daniel Webster
One New England scientist is developing a soft-bodied caterpillar-like robot. Another is helping sophomore college students build autonomous mobile robots that can navigate hairpin turns.
Robotics research and academia is alive and well in New England these days, and it's not just happening at MIT and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Scientists in Medford and Nashua, N.H., are also heading up initiatives to keep the field fueled with discoveries and an able work force.
For instance, a group of researchers at Tufts University won a $730,000 grant from the California-based W.M. Keck Foundation to develop soft-bodied robots. The research is co-directed by neurobiologist Barry Trimmer, who specializes in the study of caterpillar movements. Trimmer is teaming with biomedical engineering professor David Kaplan, who focuses on how spiders spin webs and silkworms weave cocoons. Kaplan's team is developing flexible materials via genetic engineering and nanotechnology. The goal is to develop robots that mimic animal movements and are soft from the inside out, said Trimmer.
"This research could move robots into a whole new realm of capability," said Trimmer.
Founded in 1852, Tufts University is located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford and Grafton.
In separate developments, universities such as WPI recently unveiled new undergraduate degree programs in robotics. But a robotics undergraduate degree program is already under way at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, N.H.
The program is a multidisciplinary degree in gaming, simulation and robotics where sophomores are required to build autonomous
robots capable of performing tasks such as picking up objects or avoiding obstacles. The college created the program in response to the needs of industry, said Tom Goulding, computer science and information systems division chair.
"We're not going to be a success and thrive unless we seem relevant to the industries we serve," said Robert Myers, Daniel Webster College president.
Goulding said he expects enrollment in the program to triple to 45 students in the fall.
"We feel like we're marching in the right direction and even leading the pack," said Goulding.
Goulding said Daniel Webster, which was founded in 1965, maintains close ties to industry. For instance, the college received a two-year, $50,000 grant from Nashua, N.H.-based BAE Systems Inc. to develop engineering curricula.
Daniel Webster College maintains an average annual enrollment of 1,200 students and also offers undergraduate degrees in aeronautical and mechanical engineering.
