Major government agencies including the National Science Foundation , National Institutes of Health , U . S . DoD , DoE , DoT , NASA , and DARPA and many companies and foundations sponsor our large portfolio of robotics research projects . Robotics faculty expertise at the ME Department and Virginia Tech spans a wide range of specialties including but not limited to , robot design , controls , sensing and perception , algorithms , cooperative systems , man-machine interface , artificial intelligence , deep learning , and human factors . The robotic application areas are in commercial and service industry , manufacturing , and military systems .
Abundant opportunities are available for students at all levels , from first-year undergraduate to PhD , to get involved in hands-on experiential learning and research . From student competitions to advanced doctoral research , Virginia Tech engineering students are constantly pioneering designs and new discoveries in robotics .
From grape-picking or watermelon harvesting agricultural robots to cancerfighting bacterial robots , bio-inspired balancing robots with a reptile-like tails to unmanned aerial vehicles , our researchers are extending the boundaries of robotics innovations . I invite you to join us in this exciting journey of discovery , education and learning .
Azim Eskandarian | Department Head Nicholas & Rebecca Des Champs Professor