ALAMOSA — The U.S. Army Research Office recently awarded a grant of $6,055 to Adams State University to continue its summer High School Apprenticeship Research Program in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. This is the third year Army Research grants have funded the program.
The grant allows two high school students to participate with faculty and university students in the Undergraduate Research Internship Program in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Social Robotics, also funded by the U.S. Army. Both programs are directed by Dr. Matthew Iklé, Adams State professor of mathematics.
According to Iklé, the project will provide junior and senior high school students with hands-on experience in developing and presenting scientific research. It will also create a pipeline of students interested in earning bachelor’s degrees in engineering, computer science, information technology, and mathematics. The apprenticeships are for eight weeks during June and July. Each apprentice will earn $10 per hour for 25 hours per week and one hour of university credit from Adams State.
“This summer’s apprentices will build upon the successful work accomplished during the summers of 2016 and 2017 by engaging in research into numerous AI technologies and humanoid robotics,” Iklé said. Students will work with the department’s Robokind robots. “We will work to integrate the software and robotic hardware to enable robots to effectively focus attention on those aspects of the environment likely to be useful for achieving their goals.”
Caption: Dr. Matt Iklé shows workings of the Robokind robot that will be used in the apprenticeship program./Courtesy photo