Ideas on the Move: Lehigh Introduces New Robotics Studio

With pincer-like hands, the robotic monkey known as “Willy” grasps a bar overhead while its tail — abruptly curved like the handle of an umbrella — slowly swings to the side, propelling it forward on a set of monkey bars.

Willy demonstrates brachiation, a form of movement where primates swing from tree limb to tree limb using their arms. Eventually, the robot will traverse a 20-foot span of bars underneath a sign for the new Freed Family Robotics Design Studio in Wilbur Powerhouse, inviting visitors to discover what’s possible at Lehigh’s latest Design Lab.

The robotics studio provides a space where students can bring their ideas to life through complex movement with components such as nuts, bolts, actuators and motors. Willy — named after Wilbur — was one of the first robots designed in the new studio by a group of mechanical engineering students for their Senior Capstone Design Project.

Selena Ueno ’25, Athanasios Cosse ’24, Graham Engel ’25 and Gregorio Macchia ’25 went through eight iterations of Willy, who started as a box-like creature without a tail, before landing on the cute simian-inspired robot.

The robotics studio works in conjunction with the Electronics Design Studio, which opened in 2023 and provides students with supplies to create circuitry. Students who want to make something more complex that involves motion, the ability to react to its environment or even make decisions, would visit the robotics studio.

“The Freed Family Robotics Design Studio came out of our question of, ‘What’s next?’” said Stephen P. DeWeerth, dean of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science and a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Bioengineering.

The studio was made possible through a donation from alumnus and trustee Drew Freed '83 '17P. Although it has been in use since late last year, a grand opening is planned from 4-5:30 p.m. on Feb. 26. A prototype of Willy will be on display during the event.

Cosse, who is pursuing his Ph.D. at Lehigh, and Macchia, who is pursuing a master’s in mechanical engineering at Lehigh, will continue working on Willy. When the robot is finished, it’s expected to be four-and-a-half feet tall, be three times faster and could incorporate other interactive elements, like a controller that allows visitors to activate it.

“With the Design Labs, the goal is to have tools there so students can be creative and develop designs to respond to their ideas,” DeWeerth said. “They can be makers, and making is a central part of our university strategy.”

Robotics at Lehigh

Robotics has become a popular area of study at Lehigh in recent years. The Autonomous & Intelligent Robotics Lab (AIR Lab) opened at the Mountaintop Campus in 2021 and several student clubs focusing on various areas of robotics have started since then, DeWeerth said.

The AIR Lab is a joint research group composed of faculty and students studying relevant areas of robotics, including robot control, machine learning, manipulation, aerial robotics and autonomous driving. The AIR Lab is for advanced researchers and those looking for open space to test prototypes that require a lot of room, such as flying robots and blimps, DeWeerth said.

The Freed Family Robotics Design Studio will serve as the new hub for robotics clubs and provide a space for undergraduate students, regardless their level of experience, to explore robotics.

“The Design Labs play this amazing role of resourcing all these different kinds of projects, from complex game-changing robotics research, to a student wanting to build a small device that does something interesting,” DeWeerth said. “You have this whole range where they provide space, they provide materials and supplies, and most important, they provide advice, guidance and mentoring.”

The new studio creates opportunities students wouldn’t have had before because they didn’t have the resources, said Kelly Zona, manager of the electronics and robotics studios at Lehigh’s Design Labs.

“I think it’s two-fold — if students have an idea, they can come down and see what we have to offer. It also helps students, like those in our clubs, continue with what they are doing,” Zona said.

Zona and Brian Slocum, director of the Design Labs, also are in the process of creating a curriculum for the lab that would go over the basics of actuators, sensors, mechanisms and kinematics. It will be designed for those without any previous knowledge of or experience with robotics.

Freed, who is chairman and CEO of Freedom Aerospace in Savannah, Ga., which invests in businesses that support aviation and aerospace, was inspired by the enthusiasm of the students he met in Lehigh’s Design Labs. Freed believes in the value of hands-on education and the Design Labs’ mission to promote interdisciplinary learning and innovation by giving students the opportunity to work on real-world projects.

“Look at what’s going on in the future. It’s all about automation, whether robotics, computer numerical control machining or layered printing of metals,” said Freed, who was a first-generation college student when he attended Lehigh to study metallurgy and materials engineering.

After Lehigh, Freed went on to earn a master’s in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering. He also sponsors the David and Lorraine Freed Undergraduate Research Symposium.

What Can Robots Do?

The field of robotics continues to grow internationally, with robots being deployed for a variety of uses.

Industrial robots assist with manufacturing, particularly in the automotive industry where they assist with assembly and welding. They also are used to package goods. As of last year, there was a record number of industrial robots operating in factories, with 4.2 million reported worldwide, according to a September 2024 report from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

Service robots perform tasks for humans, such as cleaning and disinfecting; inspection and maintenance; construction and demolition; search and rescue in harsh environments, such as areas affected by earthquakes and fires, and they are used in the hospitality industry to prepare food and drinks, according to the IFR.

Robots, such as Willy, also provide entertainment.

A Robot Comes to Life

Ueno, Cosse, Engel and Macchia were asked to come up with an interactive robotic display for their Senior Capstone Design Project last January. They originally wanted to create a “robot ninja warrior” that would perform several actions as it went through an obstacle course. They ultimately decided to focus on one robot that did a single task.

They knew Willy would be displayed prominently in Wilbur, so the robot would need to be cute, engaging, quiet, easy to service, inexpensive to maintain, and efficient, meaning a long battery life.

The project pushed the group outside their comfort zone, as they all study mechanical engineering but had to utilize different disciplines, such as electrical engineering, to get Willy to work, Cosse said.

Although Willy was created as an appealing visual display, Cosse and Machia believe the robot’s motions could be utilized for inspection and maintenance at heights that are risky for humans.

“The principles we learned in the creation of the robot can be applied in industry even if the design needs to be modified slightly for specific applications,” Cosse said.

For example, inspections via drones are becoming more prevalent, but drones don’t have the ability to perform maintenance.

Willy could also be used as an educational tool. Macchia and Cosse are considering making an instruction manual for building a smaller, prototype version of the robot.

“In the future, it would be really cool to eventually use the knowledge we gained from this project to build a brachiation robot that could be used for swinging across terrain where a wheeled or legged robot would struggle,” Macchia said.

Lehigh’s Design Labs — and Willy — are a great example of applying what you learn to practical needs, Freed said. He believes students who participate in the Design Labs are ahead of the game.

“I think we should push everyone we can to go there. I think we should continue to add technologies to Wilbur,” Freed said. “As Lehigh continues to keep its leadership position in engineering, we need to keep marching ahead.”

From BattleBots to Blimps: Lehigh Robotics Clubs

• Lehigh Alliance of BattleBots: Designs, fabricates, assembles, tests and funds combat robots. The purpose of the robots is to compete in BattleBots competitions. Matches are won when the opposing robot can no longer move, or a judge decides the winner if both robots are still moving within the time limit.
• Lehigh Aerial Swarms Club: Open to undergraduate and graduate students who want to learn algorithms and theoretical robotics through hands-on experience. The club participates in the National Research Robotics Competition, Defend the Republic. The challenge of the competition is to design and control autonomous robot swarms that operate in difficult environments.
• Lehigh University Space Initiative (LUSI): Dedicated to space and engineering, this club created Lehigh’s first Mars rover and entered it in the 2023 University Rover Challenge, an annual international competition sponsored by the Mars Society. The club is currently working on a contract with NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative to build a nanosatellite capable of performing research in space.
• Lehigh Underwater Robotics: This club provides students with hands-on experience in the design, building and testing of underwater drones.