Robotics Program Expands at UNOH

Posted on Monday, February 25, 2019

Students work in the newly completed Robotics & Automation lab

Written by: Contributing Columnist Ben Frail, Robotics & Automation Division Head

Since the start of the Robotics & Automation program in January 2016, the program has educated more than 170 students in three short years and in that time, there have been more than 80 graduates.  

To accommodate this growth, the robotics building has doubled in size over the past year with a nearly 8,000 square foot expansion. This expansion project included renovating one of the existing shops into two more classrooms while the entirety of the new addition was dedicated to new lab and shop space. With this expansion, the building now has four classrooms and two dedicated lab spaces. This addition will allow for instruction of 240 students daily, across the three class time blocks (mornings, afternoons, and evenings).

The program is consistently improving and evolving to handle the growth in enrollment by designing and building new trainers for the students to use in their labs. The program also actively works with its program advisory board to ensure the student training stays consistent with the skills they will need in the work force.

The Robotics & Automation program was created out of a need for industrial trained technicians to work with the complex and ever-changing technology in their facilities. When people think of a degree in Robotics & Automation, the automation portion can sometimes be forgotten. In this field, robots are merely a tool that allow the automated process to be completed.

Students who graduate from this program at UNOH will learn how to program and rebuild a robot, but they will also learn how to wire and control  industrial motors, be able to program the  programmable logic controller (PLC) that controls the automated process, and learn how to build an industrial work cell from the ground up. Industries of all types are evolving towards more automated processes both now and in the coming years, which makes the Robotics & Automation Program at UNOH even more valuable to prepare students for profitable careers in the future.

For more information about the Robotics & Automation program visit: https://www.unoh.edu/academics/college-of-applied-technologies/robotics-automation-technology.html 

Category: Applied Technologies

Keywords: Robotics and Automation, Expansion, Growth