The Freed Family Robotics Design Studio in Wilbur Powerhouse is Lehigh’s latest Design Lab and a space where students can bring their ideas to life.
The studio, which was made possible through a donation from metallurgy and materials engineering alumnus and university trustee Drew Freed '83 '17P, was dedicated in February.
“The Freed Family Robotics Design Studio came out of our question of, ‘What’s next?’” says Stephen P. DeWeerth, Rossin College professor and dean. “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 says. “They can be makers, and making is a central part of our university strategy.”
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 an environment, or even make decisions would visit the robotics studio.
Robotics has become a popular area of study at Lehigh in recent years. The Autonomous and Intelligent Robotics Lab (AIR Lab) opened at the Mountaintop Campus in 2021, and there are numerous active student clubs, including the Lehigh Alliance of BattleBots, Lehigh Aerial Swarms Club, Lehigh University Space Initiative, and Lehigh Underwater Robotics. The studio will serve as the new hub for clubs and provide a space for undergraduates, 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 says. “You have this whole range where they provide space, they provide materials and supplies, and most important, they provide advice, guidance, and mentoring.”
