University of Michigan Opens Ford Motor Company Robotics Building

The University of Michigan opened the $75 million Ford Motor Company Robotics Building in March of 2021 in Ann Arbor. As the new home of the U-M Robotics Institute, the 134,000-sf facility provides the College of Engineering with collaborative R&D labs, maker spaces, high-bay research areas, a three-story fly zone for autonomous aerial vehicles, a Mars yard for rover and lander prototyping, and an outdoor obstacle course for walking robots. Designed by HED, the four-story structure features an expansive atrium lobby surrounded by transparent glass-walled labs. Technology-rich classrooms accommodate a hybrid instructional model combining virtual and in-person learning. The top floor of the building houses Ford Motor Company's first robotics and mobility lab on a university campus, enabling 100 Ford researchers and engineers to develop new technological innovations in partnership with academic investigators. Ground was broken on the facility in April of 2018.