I S R L AB
IN ACTION AT UWF Intelligent Systems and Robotics Lab equips students with tools for hi-tech innovations BY STEPHANIE YANCEY ’96
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f the thought of intelligent systems and robotics brings to mind a round, selfroaming household vacuum cleaner, you’d be correct. If you’re picturing a lifesized, eerily-human robot performing tasks in our workplaces and homes, you’d also be correct. At its core, the intelligent systems and robotics field combines the strengths and mitigates the weaknesses of humans and machines. Ready or not, it’s on the way to becoming a fixture in our everyday lives. UWF’s Intelligent Systems and Robotics Laboratory in downtown Pensacola is the hot spot for students to learn, research, invent and shine. The lab is an extension of UWF’s Ph.D. program in ISR, a joint partnership with the Institute for Human & Machine Cognition. When the program launched in 2019, it was
one of just a few in the nation and the first and only in Florida. Fresh out of the gate, the program was attracting the best and brightest students from across the country. “Our students come to the program with innovative ideas and suggestions for really exciting research,” said Dr. Hakki Erhan Sevil, assistant professor of intelligent systems and robotics. “It was important for them to have a creative space to share ideas and perfect their work.” Sevil said students aren’t just gaining knowledge in the lab. They’re creating inventions completely new to the industry. Exposing students to the ISR Lab early in the academic journey is a philosophy embraced at UWF.