WHNT interviews UAH students, advisor about autonomous robot build

From left, UAH Computer Engineering major Tevon Walker, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering assistant professor Dr. Farbod Fahimi and Mechanical Engineering Graduate student Sai susheel praneeth Kode operate their autonomous robot.

Michael Mercier | UAH

An autonomous robot being developed by two UAH students and their adviser attracted the attention of WHNT News 19 recently.

Mechanical Engineering Graduate student Sai susheel praneeth Kode, his research assistant, undergraduate Computer Engineering major Tevon Walker, and advisor Dr. Farbod Fahimi were the subjects of a news story about their device that was reported by WHNT's Shevaun Bryant.

The trio is exploring ways to create an electronic "neural network" between the robot and the operator that will help empower both by releasing the robot to perform autonomous tasks assigned by the controller within certain parameters. The robot would be able to detect and act on anomalies between what the operator has told it is the path to its destination and the actual conditions it finds. It would relay that information to the operations base via the network and adjust to complete its mission. That goal is still on the research horizon.