ROBOTICS: Local university partners with U.S. Army to offer new program
FORT MOORE, Ga. (WRBL) — A local university is partnering with the U.S. Army to help train future members of the robotics workforce.
Columbus State University and U.S. Army post Fort Moore announced they will team up to offer students, community members and servicemen and -women a unique opportunity starting this fall.
“We’re partnering with Columbus State to provide them an area where they can experiment with their home-built or lab-built ground- and air robotics,” said Christopher Willis, director of the Maneuver Battle Lab (MBL) at Fort Moore.
The MBL’s mission is to support Gen. Curtis Buzzard, commanding general of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, as the robotics proponent through experimentation in its facilities.
As the Army increasingly looks toward robotics use in future operations – the use of sUAS systems was discussed at last year’s Warfighter Conference, and the Army launched its first official drone competition earlier this year – Willis said part of the goal is to show CSU students high-priority skills for meeting current Army needs.
This partnership is the only one of its kind in the state of Georgia. CSU became the first Georgia school to offer a Robotics Engineering program in 2019.
Dr. Mahmut Reyhanoglu serves as the current director of CSU’s robotics program. He hopes the program will show students what opportunities are available within the U.S. Army and the robotics workforce.
Willis hopes the program will help with Army recruiting, which in 2023 hit record lows. In May, CSU commissioned 19 of its ROTC cadets as second lieutenants.
As the only instance where a military battle lab is directly paired with a university in the country, according to Willis, the program offers unique experience for students entering the robotics field.
“This industry is growing. There is a trend throughout the world towards automation, towards robotics, applying robotics everywhere,” Reyhanoglu said. “We have to be ready from the workforce point of view.”
The MBL is expected to open for CSU programming this fall. CSU plans to offer professional certificate programs in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics with training at the MBL. Those programs are open to CSU students, community- and servicemembers.
According to Reyhanoglu, Fort Moore representatives have assured him that entering post should provide little difficulty for any U.S. citizen with a special base-provided pass. However, those who are not U.S. citizens and wish to take a course using the MBL may need to take additional steps.
