DEVELOPMENT

Robotics Innovation Center.

 
 

Seeded with a $45 million lead grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation in 2021, the new Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Innovation Center (RIC) at Hazelwood Green will further the vision of making Pittsburgh a global leader in next generation robotics and AI research, development, and innovation. The RIC will also create technology jobs and help to grow Pittsburgh’s skilled workforce through STEM education and outreach activities.

“The Robotics Innovation Center at Hazelwood Green will help Pittsburgh to control its economic destiny and reassert its rightful place as the national leader in the most important industries of today and tomorrow, with access to everyone who wants to be part of the story.”
— Sam Reiman, Director, Richard King Mellon Foundation

Occupying 150,000 square feet when built, the RIC will provide CMU robotics researchers with the facilities and spaces needed to bridge the stages of foundational research, integration, iteration, and commercialization. Plans include reconfigurable high bays; testing facilities, including a unique large-footprint outdoor testing area; flexible spaces that address robotics systems at different scales; and pre-incubator space for the next generation of CMU-affiliated robotics companies.

The RIC also will create synergies by complementing and accelerating the work by the nearby Manufacturing Futures Institute at Mill 19, where researchers will be able to deploy new ideas within its test beds.

The Robotics Innovation Center is expected to be completed by 2025 or 2026.

Read the full announcement on the Robotics Innovation Center and Manufacturing Futures Institute here.