Shepherd Lab & Tours

The first two floors of Shepherd are the home to the Minnesota Robotics Institute. Below are several cutting-edge labs and spaces available to those involved in robotics and sensing research. Whether you're an educator looking to show your student cutting-edge robotics or an industry professional, we want to show you what Shepherd Laboratories offers.

Schedule your tour by contacting MnRI: mnri@umn.edu. 

nikos lab

Distributed Robotics Laboratory (Shepherd Labs 246, 256, 270)

  • Lead MnRI Researcher: Dr. Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos
  • Main Research Areas: robotics, distributed robotics, sensors for transportation applications, computer vision, control systems, sensor networks, computer engineering, computer-integrated manufacturing

Learn more about Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos on his faculty website.

maria

Gini Next Generation Robot Laboratory (Shepherd Labs 160)

  • Lead MnRI Researcher: Dr. Maria Gini
  • Main Research Areas: robotics, distributed robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning

Learn more about Maria Gini on her faculty website or University of Minnesota faculty profile.

sattar

Interactive Robotics and Vision (IRV) Laboratory (Shepherd Labs 150)

  • Lead MnRI Researcher: Dr. Junaed Sattar
  • Main Research Areas: robotics, underwater robotics, human-robot collaboration, robot vision, application of robotics in healthcare, and assisted and autonomous driving

Learn more about Junaed Sattar on his faculty website or read more about his team's research on the IRV Lab page.

park lab

Park Laboratory (Shepherd Labs 232)

  • Lead MnRI Researcher: Dr. Hyun Soo Park
  • Main Research Areas: robotics, computer vision, sensing

Learn more about Hyun Soo Park on his faculty website.

isler lab

Robotic Sensor Networks (RSN) Laboratory (Shepherd Labs 130)

  • Lead MnRI Research: Dr. Volkan Isler
  • Main Research Areas: robotics, perception, agricultural robotics, and sensing, automation, communication, actuation

Learn more about Dr. Volkan Isler's work on his faculty website. You can read about his lab team on the RSN lab website.

drone lab with block M on wall

Drone Laboratory (Shepherd Labs 164)

  • This two-story laboratory and meeting space includes netting and enough space to test flying drones. Our researchers can flight test their research year-round in the Drone Lab.