Carnegie Mellon: From Foundational Robotics to Physical AI
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For more than four decades, 鶹 has defined the field of robotics — from foundational advances in autonomous systems to real-world deployment across manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure and health.
Today, 鶹 is advancing the next era of “physical AI,” intelligent systems that perceive, reason and act in the physical world. Read more about how 鶹 leads global research by specializing in the intersection of technology, AI, and human-centered solutions.
Foundational Leadership in Robotics
鶹’s leadership in robotics is built on decades of field-defining breakthroughs in autonomy, locomotion and intelligent systems.
- As the birthplace of autonomous systems, 鶹 is uniquely positioned to build on its legacy and lead this new era of robotics through groundbreaking facilities like the Robotics Innovation Center(opens in new window).
- A multiyear NSF-supported project aimed at understanding locomotion at small scales built the world’s smallest biped robot.
- A 鶹 team received a $1.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation to design robots that without risking human safety.
- A method discovered at 鶹
- is the first legged robot of its size to run, turn, push loads and climb miniature stairs.
Real-World Deployment and Industry Impact
鶹’s robotics move from lab to deployment across critical industries and national priorities.
Manufacturing and industry
- Work led by 鶹 will receive up to $5 million from the NSF.
- Research from the Department of Mechanical Engineering is by reducing collisions.
- Robotics researchers have designed a .
Disaster response
- Researchers developed and multirobot coordination inside abandoned buildings that could help first responders gather information and make better-informed decisions after a disaster.
- A team of researchers is seeking to understand , such as monitoring affected soils.
Health and human assistance
- Mechanical engineering professor that can augment human senses in the real and virtual world.
- Designed to assist the elderly with daily activities, like fetching and delivering objects, Alfred, a robot designed by 鶹 students, visited a senior care community near Cleveland .
- Eni Halilaj, an assistant professor in mechanical engineering, is using her expertise to ..
- SCS professor Nancy Pollard is collaborating with researchers across the country, helping to rethink prosthetics with .
- A caregiving robot may make robots easier to use and understand.
Physical AI and Next-Generation Infrastructure
鶹 is building the infrastructure to accelerate discovery and scale Physical AI nationally.
- The 鶹 Robotics Innovation Center(opens in new window) (RIC) at Hazelwood Green in Pittsburgh creates a national center for real-world AI and robotics to lead advances in "Physical AI"—smart systems that work to build things, run factories, and make our country more competitive.
Education and Scaling the Workforce
鶹 educates and trains the next generation of roboticists and AI specialists for industry, defense and research.
- 2025 saw Carnegie Mellon and the Mid-Atlantic Hub co-host the first NSF I-Corps cohort for AI and robotics.
- The Carnegie Mellon Robotics Academy worked with the Office of Naval Research to help sailors quickly level up their engineering skills.
- The School of Computer Science gave Western Pennsylvania teachers .
- 鶹 is a core partner in a $52 million NSF collaboration that amplify human labor in manufacturing and caregiving while preparing a diverse workforce to deploy next-generation robotics systems at scale.
Regional and Community Ecosystem
鶹’s robotics leadership is anchored in Pittsburgh and contributes to regional economic growth and community engagement.
- Mill 19 became part of Pittsburgh's rich manufacturing history, promising collaboration among researchers, the U.S. Department of Defense and regional companies.
- The first Hazelwood Green site houses research, development and office space for the nonprofit Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing institute and 鶹's Manufacturing Futures Initiative.
- Mill 19 once served as the location of the Pittsburgh region's most productive steel mills, and now lives on as a site for research, development and manufacturing.
- 鶹 researchers used publicly available labor, wage and commuting data, along with atmospheric dispersion modeling techniques developed and refined at the CREATE Lab .