University of Michigan, Ford Open Robotics Lab

The University of Michigan and the Ford Motor Co. opened a $75 million, 134,000-sq-ft robotics complex on the university’s campus March 16. The facility is the new home of the University of Michigan Robotics Institute. It contains research lab spaces, cleanrooms, offices, and makerspaces. The four-story building also houses Ford’s first robotics and mobility research lab on a university campus.

The new laboratory spaces include a three-story fly zone to test drones and other AAVs; an AI-designed outdoor course for testing robots on stairs, rocks, and water, surrounded by motion-capture cameras; and a high-bay garage space for self-driving cars.

The Michigan Mars Rover team tests its rover on the Mars Yard outside the Ford Robotics Building at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. Robots meant for space and planet exploration are tested on this specially designed terrain. Courtesy of Joseph Xu/University of Michigan Engineering, Communications, and Marketing.

Among Ford research projects set to continue or begin at the new site is experimentation with a four-legged robot capable of laser-scanning manufacturing plants, helping engineers update the original computer-aided design used to retool for new products.