A portable robotic workcell: Building robotics technology partnerships

The paper discusses how a capstone design project can be utilized to build partnerships between the academia and several companies representing key industries in modern robotics technology. The project can be described as designing a portable robotic workcell to showcase state-of-the-art equipment and technologies in robotics. The project was completed in May 2008 by a multidisciplinary project team composed of senior engineering and engineering technology students at Lake Superior State University. The project was sponsored by Applied Manufacturing Technologies, Inc. The paper will introduce the design considerations and robotics technologies employed to build the system.