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BOSTON (WBZNewsRadio) - With the help of $4.4 million dollars in grant funding from the state of Massachusetts, Boston University will create a world-class robotics research and development space for students.
BU said the space will allow for testing self-driving technology and flexible medical robots, that don't require motors or rigid parts.
The Robotics And Autonomous Systems Teaching and Innovation Center (RASTIC) is set to open by summer of 2023, will offer 2,000-square feet of R&D space and will be located at the former CVS building at 730 Commonwealth Ave.
The $8.8 million price tag will be split between the university and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a public agency that supports the state's tech sector.
The university said with RASTIC they will more than quadruple its master's degree students in robotics, and give the school more of an already competitive edge over rival universities and robotics programs around the world.
"Robotics is just one of the ways of the future so we need places that we can organize around, that we can interact with it and we can get a sense with it," Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Systems Engineering Sean Anderson said. "And when I say 'we' here, I don't just mean the faculty and students I mean the public in general. We need these visible places so we can all understand, what is this, how does it work and why is it important to me."
College of Engineering Professor Christos Cassandras said the lab will bring jobs to the city.
"Robotics and autonomous systems is right at the heart of what a smart city might look like," Cassandras told WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal.
WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal (@KarynRegal) reports
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