Testing medical protective gear is the perfect job for robots–but not without the help of humans.
When the production and manufacturing industry for personal protective equipment encountered a bottled neck because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Taskin Padir, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, set up a team to help mobilize the process of testing surgical masks and gowns in local hospitals. Now, he wants to build a robotic system that could help manufacturers perform that process faster and more efficiently during this and future pandemics.