latest news & announcements

Construction Robotics Student Workshop

The ARCADE lab organized a construction robotics workshop which was attended by more than 20 students from various programs like Construction Engineering & Management, Building Construction, Architecture, Computer Science, Civil Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. 

Students learned many things about Construction Robotics and legged robots. The workshop also provided networking opportunities to the students when they developed and presented startup ideas with robots with the help of industry mentors. Two winning teams also won Hokie swags.

Engineering Social

Students from ARCADE lab led by Dr. Afsari showcased the Spot robot at the CEM booth in the Engineering Social event. Srijeet Halder and Minghao Dong talked about their work on construction robots with engineering freshmen. Curious students enquired and learned about the potential of robots in construction industry.

The Roanoke Times news

The ARCADE lab and its Spot project were featured on the front page of The Roanoke Times on Aug 19, 2021. The reporters accompanied the project team during their regular site visit to the Holden Hall in the Virginia Tech campus. The reporters saw in action some of the research work done by the project team. They interviewed Dr. Afsari, Srijeet Halder (Ph.D. student), and Minghao Dong (Senior undergraduate student).

Links:

https://roanoke.com/news/local/education/virginia-tech-researchers-tryin...

https://roanoke.com/eedition/page-a1/page_a634426d-118a-5aea-8ba7-52b905...

WDBJ News Coverage

WDBJ reporters visited the Holden Hall renovation project at Virginia Tech with the ARCADE team. The reporters observed the work done by Prof. Kereshmeh Afsari and her students Srijeet Halder and Minghao Dong in the field of construction robotics. The report aired on the WDBJ channel on Aug 12, 2021, a recording of which along with the news report can be viewed at the following link:

Visit by Procon Consulting

Jason Lopez (Sr. Vice President), Steve Devito  (Director of Technology), and John Serdakowski (Building and Construction Technology Manager) from Procon Consulting LLC visited the ARCADE lab. Dr. Afsari and her students presented the findings after five months of research with the Spot robot at construction sites. In addition to the Procon team, the presentations were attended by Paul Ely (Associate Director) from VT Capital Constructions and his team. The group also visited the CID and Holden Hall projects and saw the robot live in action. 

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Presentation to Christiansburg Middle School

Faculty and students from the ARCADE lab gave an online presentation to the students of Christiansburg Middle School on robotics for construction. Students were given an introduction to robotics and how robots are used in different ways. They were excited to see the Spot robot in action. The presentation was also joined by Procon Consulting who explained the construction industry and the potential of robots in construction. The hour-long presentation also included quizzes on robotics. The four winners of the quizzes received prizes from Procon.

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Unboxing Spot robot with Procon Consulting

Students of ARCADE lab led by Dr. Afsari hosted an official unboxing event with Procon Consulting. The full-day event comprised testing of the Spot robot by Boston Dynamics and training sessions. The event was also attended by a team from VT Capital Construction, which manages all construction on the Virginia Tech campus. The event provided opportunities for open discussions between students and industry partners. The day concluded with a tour of the Student Athlete Performance Center (SAPC) at Jamerson Hall and the Holden Hall reconstruction project. 

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