By Brittany Bailer
On March 17, Howard University will welcome 500 pre-college and collegiate students from the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area to learn about preparatory pathways to robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation. The engaging, day-long program is sponsored by Amazon Fulfillment Technologies and Robotics (FTR), the Howard University Robotics Organization (HURO) and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Today’s students face an increasingly technology-driven future, yet many lack access to hands-on experiences with cutting-edge robotics and AI technologies. This event bridges that gap, offering students the opportunity to interact with AI-enabled devices while learning from robotics experts. Students will gain firsthand exposure to drones, Vex Robotics, Amazon Astro home monitoring robots, and Howard University “Mecca Bots” autonomous robots. In addition, students will learn about innovation from collegiate robotics faculty from Howard University, the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus, George Mason University, and the University of Michigan. Students from Banneker High School, McKinley Tech, Theodore Roosevelt High School, and Thomas Jefferson High School will be in attendance.
The Robotics and AI Community Outreach Program is a component of a Howard University and Amazon FTR partnership which is expanding talent pipelines and pathways in robotics & AI through academic and career enrichment initiatives equipping students with real-world skills.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is partnering with Howard in multiple ways, including sponsorship of the Distributed Teaching Collaborative (DTC), which seeks to expand access to robotics instruction and build pathways to graduate robotics degrees. The DTC is led by the University of Michigan in partnership with Howard University, Morehouse College, and Berea College. The project supports a distributed open-source curriculum, instruction and tools to ensure robotics innovation is accessible to all.