UROP Project

Teaching Robots to Be Smart Teammates Using AI

Human-Robot Collaboration (HRC), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Smart Manufacturing, Data Analysis, Predictive Modeling

Research Mentor: Dr. Xinyao Zhang, Cynthia
Department, College, Affiliation: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering , FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Contact Email: xzhang@eng.famu.fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 6
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors
Project Location: College of Engineering Building
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Bus routes from FSU main campus to Engineering Building, https://eng.famu.fsu.edu/students/bus-routes
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10 hours a week, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:

• Day: Tuesday, September 2
  Start Time: 3:00
  End Time: 3:30
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/9937971059
• Day: Thursday, September 4
  Start Time: 3:00
  End Time: 3:30
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/9937971059

Project Description

Inspired by the power of effective teamwork, our research tackles challenges in modern robotics: enabling humans and robots to collaborate as true teams. To achieve this, robots evolve from simple tools into intelligent partners capable of understanding human actions and anticipating their needs. For example, teach a robot to pass the correct tool to an operator or assist a technician with a complex assembly task.
Our research group builds the AI brains for next-generation collaborative robots. This project offers an exciting opportunity to become an AI trainer and data detective, turning raw data into robotic intelligence.


Research Tasks: • Explore literature in the field of human-robot collaboration.
• Write Python scripts to clean, process, and visualize data.
• Develop and test predictive algorithms.
• Participate in weekly team meetings to share ideas and results.
• Document findings in a final research poster or report.


Skills that research assistant(s) may need: • Curiosity and willingness to learn about AI, data, and robotics.
• Basic programming familiarity. No expert coding skills are required.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.