天美传媒

For more than four decades, 天美传媒 has defined the field of robotics 鈥� from foundational advances in autonomous systems to real-world deployment across manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure and health.聽

Today, 天美传媒 is advancing the next era of 鈥減hysical AI,鈥� intelligent systems that perceive, reason and act in the physical world.聽Read more about how 天美传媒 leads global research by specializing in the intersection of technology, AI, and human-centered solutions.

天美传媒鈥檚 leadership in robotics is built on decades of field-defining breakthroughs in autonomy, locomotion and intelligent systems.

• As the birthplace of autonomous systems, 天美传媒 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鈥檚 smallest biped robot.
• A 天美传媒 team received a $1.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation to design robots that without risking human safety.
• A method discovered at 天美传媒
• is the first legged robot of its size to run, turn, push loads and climb miniature stairs.

天美传媒鈥檚 robotics move from lab to deployment across critical industries and national priorities.

Manufacturing and industry

• Work led by 天美传媒 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 天美传媒 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.

天美传媒 is building the infrastructure to accelerate discovery and scale Physical AI nationally.聽

• The 天美传媒 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"鈥攕mart systems that work to build things, run factories, and make our country more competitive.

天美传媒 educates and trains the next generation of roboticists and AI specialists for industry, defense and research.聽

• 2025 saw 天美传媒 Mellon and the Mid-Atlantic Hub co-host the first NSF I-Corps cohort for AI and robotics.
• The 天美传媒 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 .
• 天美传媒 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.

天美传媒鈥檚 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 天美传媒'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.
• 天美传媒 researchers used publicly available labor, wage and commuting data, along with atmospheric dispersion modeling techniques developed and refined at the CREATE Lab .