Project Goals

1. Provide Electrical Engineering Technology (EET) two-year and four-year students with current and relevant skills in Industrial Robotics by: a. Updating both the two-year and four-year electrical engineering technology curriculum to include skills in industrial robotics relevant to current industry needs. b. Enhancing the existing Industrial Robotics laboratory at Michigan Tech and establishing a similar laboratory at Bay de noc Community College (Bay College) to demonstrate the value of state-of-the-art, hands-on training experiences and support the course changes.
2. Provide “stand-alone” programs to train and certify students from other institutions, industry representatives, and displaced workers.
3. Develop new “RobotRun” robotic simulation software and make it available at no cost for adaptation by the other institutions. This will allow current concepts related to industrial robotics to be taught even in locations without access to current robotics hardware.
4. Train faculty members at similar institutions to build expertise in Industrial Robotics using state-of-the-art FANUC Robots.
5. Develop a pipeline and encouragement for 2-year students (particularly underrepresented students, many of whom attend community colleges) to explore options in 4-year EET degree programs.
6. Conduct robotics-oriented seminars for K-12 teachers to expand their knowledge in engineering and science and increase the awareness of the role the field of robotics plays in STEM education.
7. Conduct robotic workshops for high school students to increase their interest in STEM fields, utilizing the appealing concepts of robotics and automation to attract participants.
8. Disseminate the new curriculum and software widely to significantly impact the future electrical engineering technology workforce by encouraging enhancements in other EET programs.