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Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems (CRIS) – Brief Intro

Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems (CRIS)

January 2026 1

Konstantinos Karydis

Energy Systems Research Workshop – Collaboration Talk

History

  • Established in 1996 as the Center for Research in Intelligent Systems, directed by Prof. Bhanu
  • Renamed in 2020, included participation outside of BCOE, directed by Prof. Roy-Chowdhury
  • Director change in 2024, focus shift to robotics and embodied artificial intelligence (AI)

Organization

  • (In re-organization) Core faculty members from BCOE, Affiliated faculty from other colleges
  • Loosely-coupled group of faculty focusing on robotics, machine perception, and AI
  • Affiliated faculty working on applications of robotics, AI, and intelligent systems

Core Application Domains

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Resources

  • Assortment of sensors (cameras, lidars, etc.) and edge computing devices
  • Many robots (manipulators, wheeled robots, legged robots, aerial robots)
  • State-of-the-art data collection equipment (indoor and outdoor motion capture systems)
  • Support of sensors/edge computing/robots/data collection equipment for robotics instruction
  • Precision / Smart Agriculture
  • Smart Manufacturing
  • Human-robot Teaming and Collaboration
  • Rehabilitation and Assistive Systems
  • Embodied AI Systems
  • General Automation and Autonomy

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CRIS – WCGEC Blue Sky Collaboration Ideas

Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems (CRIS)

January 2026 2

Konstantinos Karydis

Energy Systems Research Workshop – Collaboration Talk

Project Idea 1: Monitoring and Maintenance of Remote/Offshore Clean Energy Systems (Solar Farms, Wind Turbines)

Core Robotics Research:

  • Design of multi-modal locomotion systems capable of:
    • Perching on wind turbine blades to perform non-destructive testing
    • Cleaning solar panels using electrostatic methods
  • Development of multi-robot routing algorithms to perform monitoring and maintenance tasks autonomously

Benefits to Energy Systems:

  • Improve efficiency and reduce downtime through predictive maintenance
  • Reduce reliance on human labor asked to work in remote areas

Conceptual visualization created with the aid of generative AI

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CRIS – WCGEC Blue Sky Collaboration Ideas

Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems (CRIS)

January 2026 3

Konstantinos Karydis

Energy Systems Research Workshop – Collaboration Talk

Project Idea 2: Automated EV Battery Disassembly (“De-manufacturing”)

Core Robotics Research:

  • Design of (mobile) systems with dexterous manipulation capabilities to perform:
    • Heavy-duty machining tasks such as cutting through battery casings
    • Fine manipulation tasks such as removing battery cells of different geometries
  • Development of multi-modal perception-aware manipulation algorithms to operate over high-voltage components safely and autonomously

Benefits to Energy Systems:

  • Optimize the recovery of black mass
  • Assess the state of health of battery cells at scale
  • Reduce health-related hazards to human workers

Conceptual visualization created with the aid of generative AI