CMU Robotics Expertise and Facilities Attract IROS 2026 Conference Attendees

Hundreds of academics and industry leaders in robotics toured Carnegie Mellon’s robotics and engineering facilities on Oct. 1 to see what Carnegie Mellon University researchers are working on inside the Robotics Innovation Center, Mill 19 and the National Robotics Engineering Center as part of the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)(opens in new window).

“Space was limited for these tours and spots filled up fast,” said George Darakos, the chief partnerships officer in the Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science. “We wanted to showcase not only the cutting-edge work in robotics happening across Carnegie Mellon and Pittsburgh, but also invite the world’s robotics community into CMU’s state-of-the-art facilities that foster this innovation.”

Displays filled the facilities, giving visitors up-close access to the work of researchers and teams rooted in CMU, including the Future Interfaces Group(opens in new window), Biorobotics Lab(opens in new window) and CMU spin-out FuturHand Robotics. 

Kris Kitani, an associate research professor in the Robotics Institute and co-director of the Extended Reality Technology Center, said the event helped to showcase the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of robotics.

“As a lot of these AI and robot technologies become more and more practical, more and more used, it's really important to bring in diverse technologies to make one whole system,” Kitani said. “That's something that we've done as a lab over the years: We've had a diverse set of projects that I think all feed into AI collaborating with people.”

When tech meets the real world

Bio-inspired robots stole much of the show as researchers explained how the future of robotics could take inspiration from the natural world. Clarence H. Adamson Professor of Mechanical Engineering Carmel Majidi, who serves as head of the Soft Machines Lab, gave visitors close looks at creations like starfish- and fossil-inspired robots and artificial hands for sensitive tactile scenarios.

He said the event gives people a sense of what deployment looks like after years of innovative research.

“We’ve done a lot of work over the years in terms of developing new material architectures for creating these robotic systems,” Majidi said. “We’re now at the point where we need to find breakthrough applications of these technologies. Why today is significant with IROS being here and all of this activity and attention on Pittsburgh, is that we feel that we’re actually ready now to start deploying these systems in the real world.”

Howie Choset, Kaνčić-Moura Professor of Computer Science in RI, served as general chair for the IROS organizing committee. Choset said the goal of this year’s tours was to allow visitors the chance to experience the knowledge and expertise that Pittsburgh and CMU have to offer. 

“There are so many new things we are introducing to make a big conference feel small,” he said ahead of the event. “There truly will be something for everyone.”

Choset’s Biorobotics Lab also showed off many of its nature-inspired creations, including snake robots for underwater navigation, as well as a terrestrial snake robot — the same kind used by Choset in rescue operations after earthquakes in Venezuela.

Smarter systems for physical spaces

Alexandra Ion, an assistant professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, creates smart devices for everyday use that seamlessly blend into the background of life. She calls it unobtrusive intelligence. Her Interactive Structures Lab works on everything from proactive robotic objects to unpowered wearable exoskeletons. Robots that understand human preferences, infer user intent, and assist them dynamically promise to add tremendous value to our lives, she said.

“The current advances in robotics and the enthusiasm around it is exhilarating and it was exciting to showcase our contributions with a global audience of experts,” Ion said.

The Robotics Institute’s AirLab(opens in new window) offered an up-close look at the future of drone technology, as autonomous flying robots performed complex spatial navigation tasks in real time.

CMU undergraduates also helped showcase new innovations in the space with 26x, the first student-built autonomous car to allow for both driverless and human-driven control. Each new car built every year represents the work of thousands of students from all seven of CMU’s schools and colleges as each class passes down their lessons to the next generation to build on.
 

Arya Lohia, a third-year engineering student and a lead for the Carnegie Mellon Racing(opens in new window) Autonomous Division, spoke about the chance to show the team’s design to visitors. 

“To be able to speak about our work to other people is a massive, massive opportunity,” Lohia said. “We as undergraduates put our life into this: We spend 30 hours a week on classes, and can spend 40 hours a week on projects like this.” 

“Having people who are the best at what they do come to see our work from all over the world  is just a fantastic experience,” he said.

IROS is among the premier robotics conferences. Researchers from around the world came to the conference to present and learn about the latest in the field. Companies exhibiting at the conference offered a glimpse at the future. The conference was last held in Pittsburgh in 1995. The 2026 conference and its return to Pittsburgh reinforces the city’s status as a leader in dynamic physical systems and the technologies that make them possible. 

“The occurrence of large robotics conferences like IROS in Pittsburgh further cements Pittsburgh as a global hub for robotics with a vibrant and growing ecosystem of start-ups, research centers and talent,” said Jeff Legault, associate director at NREC, which hosted a significant portion of the tours.

IROS 2027 will take place in Florence, Italy, and although on the other side of the Atlantic, CMU will have a strong presence.