Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering has created a new master’s degree program in robotics and autonomous systems.

The program is designed to train the next generation of robotics researchers with multidisciplinary knowledge in a variety of advanced topics, including but not limited to, artificial intelligence, computer science and machine learning.

“In the future, we’re going to be interacting with intelligent machines a lot in our everyday lives,” says Panagiotis Artemiadis, the robotics and autonomous systems graduate program chair and an associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering.

“We need to make sure people understand how to design, build and control the intelligent machines that will ultimately make our lives easier.”

ASU’s new graduate program, which launched last month, is one of just a handful of programs in the U.S. specialized in the field of robotics and autonomous systems, ASU notes.

Through the graduate program, students will obtain in-depth theoretical knowledge and practical experience working across a variety of engineering specialties, in an effort to develop and control robotic platforms and autonomous systems geared toward improving quality of life for all.

According to ASU, the Master of Science program is a collaboration between four of its Fulton Schools: The Polytechnic School; the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy; the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering; and the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering.

“We created the program because we need to train more people to overcome the current shortage of qualified personnel within robotics and autonomous systems,” says Lina Karam, a professor of electrical engineering in the Fulton Schools.

“Students need a breadth of knowledge to create the next generation of technologies that can have a significant impact on our economy and quality of life.”

Students in the master’s degree program will get the chance to work with leading researchers in more than 20 world-class robotics labs in areas fit for their unique research interests including autonomous vehicles, household robotics and swarm robotics.

One of the benefits of working with researchers in these robotics labs is that many robotic labs have strong ties to industry partners and collaborators, which will allow graduate students to interact with and present their ideas to industry representatives.

“We cover most if not all the areas of robotics,” says Georgios Fainekos, an associate professor of computer science and engineering in the Fulton Schools. “You can be embedded into a lab of your choice and make progress in your career.”

Since opening on Nov. 14, 2018, the new master’s degree program has received more than 200 applications.

​Below: The members of ASU’s Interactive Robotics Lab have been exploring human-robot interaction and collaboration through the development of machine learning methods that allow humanoid robots to behave in an intelligent and autonomous manner. Photo by Bailey Vidler/ASU