For more than four decades, Carnegie Mellon University has defined the field of robotics — from foundational advances in autonomous systems to real-world deployment across manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure and health. 

Today, CMU is advancing the next era of “physical AI,” intelligent systems that perceive, reason and act in the physical world. Read more about how CMU leads global research by specializing in the intersection of technology, AI, and human-centered solutions.

CMU’s leadership in robotics is built on decades of field-defining breakthroughs in autonomy, locomotion and intelligent systems.

• As the birthplace of autonomous systems, CMU 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’s smallest biped robot.
• A CMU team received a $1.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation to design robots that can operate in areas such as sidewalks, street crossings and parks(opens in new window) without risking human safety.
• A method discovered at CMU can control the size and structure of active colloidal nanorobots.(opens in new window)
• Picotaur(opens in new window) is the first legged robot of its size to run, turn, push loads and climb miniature stairs.

CMU’s robotics move from lab to deployment across critical industries and national priorities.

Manufacturing and industry

• Work led by CMU to design better robotic hands for use in health, agriculture and manufacturing(opens in new window) will receive up to $5 million from the NSF.
• Research from the Department of Mechanical Engineering is making it safer for drones to survey construction sites(opens in new window) by reducing collisions.
• Robotics researchers have designed a robot platform to monitor nutrient levels in America's essential corn crops(opens in new window).

Disaster response

• Researchers developed a new method for autonomous aerial robot exploration(opens in new window) 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 how robotics can help engineers address environmental challenges(opens in new window), such as monitoring affected soils.

Health and human assistance

• Mechanical engineering professor Carmel Majidi is introducing flexible wearables(opens in new window) 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 CMU students, visited a senior care community near Cleveland to demonstrate the potential future of caregiving(opens in new window).
• Eni Halilaj, an assistant professor in mechanical engineering, is using her expertise to prevent debilitating diseases like osteoarthritis..
• SCS professor Nancy Pollard is collaborating with researchers across the country, helping to rethink prosthetics with biologically inspired arms(opens in new window).
• A caregiving robot that responds to spoken instructions while performing physical tasks(opens in new window) may make robots easier to use and understand.

CMU is building the infrastructure to accelerate discovery and scale Physical AI nationally. 

• The Carnegie Mellon University 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"—smart systems that work to build things, run factories, and make our country more competitive.

CMU educates and trains the next generation of roboticists and AI specialists for industry, defense and research. 

• 2025 saw Carnegie Mellon and the Mid-Atlantic Hub co-host the first NSF I-Corps cohort for AI and robotics.
• The Carnegie 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 a crash course in AI(opens in new window).
• CMU is a core partner in a $52 million NSF collaboration developing dexterous robotic hands(opens in new window) that amplify human labor in manufacturing and caregiving while preparing a diverse workforce to deploy next-generation robotics systems at scale.

CMU’s 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 CMU'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.
• CMU researchers used publicly available labor, wage and commuting data, along with atmospheric dispersion modeling techniques developed and refined at the CREATE Lab to analyze employment stability, workforce characteristics and pollution exposure across the Mon Valley(opens in new window).