Quanser partnership to create educational experiences, fuel research in autonomous and connected systems - Frontiers - Purdue University

First impact planned for professional master’s degree programs in Autonomy, IoT and Robotics

A new collaboration between the Purdue College of Engineering and Quanser will provide Purdue Engineering students interested in autonomous and connected systems (ACS) unique, real-world educational experiences, offered on a larger scale, and accelerate research in this growing field.

“The partnership with Quanser represents a significant advance in our continuing drive to nurture the nation’s largest and best-prepared engineering talent pool,” said Arvind Raman, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering. “As the leading developer and distributor of educational equipment in controls and autonomy, Quanser is an ideal partner in our efforts to invest further in training the next generation of engineers in the booming field of autonomous and connected systems. We also expect the collaboration to strengthen our research capabilities and national prominence in this critical area.”

Purdue Engineering’s new collaboration with Quanser follows successful use of the company’s innovative technology in many labs, from the Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer Engineering to the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

“Purdue University has developed an innovative framework that boosts practical learning and engagement through virtual labs, collaborative projects, and industry partnerships,” said Quanser CEO Paul Gilbert. “Using Quanser's Digital Twins, high-fidelity models of real devices, Purdue will ensure online engineering students connect theory with practical application, truly preparing them for the challenges of tomorrow's workforce."

Milind Kulkarni, the Michael and Katherine Birck Head and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and academic lead for the Robert H. Buckman College of Engineering Online Education Program, expressed enthusiasm about the new relationship with Quanser. “In our first major project, Purdue Engineering faculty members will work with Quanser engineers to develop unique courses that will enable us to scale recently launched professional master’s degree programs in Autonomy, Internet of Things (IoT), and Robotics to serve new online audiences, as well as deliver a world-class experience for residential students,” he said.

Courses to blend lectures and virtual simulation

The three ACS-related professional master’s degree programs to be augmented are offered through the Purdue Engineering-based Institute for Control, Optimization and Networks (ICON), which is co-directed by Shreyas Sundaram, the Marie Gordon Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“The new courses will feature lectures by leading Purdue Engineering faculty, combined with a unique virtual laboratory created by Quanser that will allow students to experiment with concepts they learn in lectures,” Sundaram said. “These virtual labs will provide real-world scenarios modeled within an easy-to-use simulator with high-fidelity graphics. This infrastructure will enable Purdue Engineering to reach a substantial number of students who otherwise would not have access to such educational experiences. In addition, the virtual infrastructure has the key benefit of serving as a digital twin for physical Quanser equipment, allowing on-campus students to easily transfer their designs from the simulation environment to real systems, and to better understand the capabilities and challenges of designing in the real world.”

Wider benefits, extending into research, thought leadership

“As our collaboration with Quanser progresses, we expect it to go beyond academics and become a focal point for expanding ACS research and generating dialogue among industry experts,” Kulkarni said.

“The Quanser partnership provides abundant opportunity to enhance our research activities in ACS,” Sundaram noted. “Quanser has a broad set of robotics offerings, ranging from self-driving small-scale cars in smart cities to robotic arms mounted on moving bases, to drones. These robust, well-designed platforms enable researchers to quickly implement and test new algorithms for control and autonomy. Such demonstrations, aided by the tightly-integrated digital twin environment, will ease the transition of new algorithms from theory to simulation to reality, and will help increase the impact of outstanding Purdue research in these areas.”

Kulkarni said he anticipates teamwork between Purdue Engineering and Quanser on multiple fronts, including:

• Joint certificate programs for companies offering training in autonomy, IoT and robotics
• K-12 educational initiatives
• Conferences and workshops hosted at Purdue and co-sponsored by Quanser bringing in researchers, educators and practitioners to discuss emerging topics in autonomy, robotics and controls
• Opportunities to host other educational institutions at Purdue to learn best practices in teaching and training in these topics

About Quanser

Quanser is a higher education-focused company that has spent over 35 years collaborating with universities worldwide. They have developed diverse hands-on teaching laboratory ecosystems and content for modern engineering education, along with open-architecture research platforms and infrastructure for robotics, applied AI, autonomous systems, and mechatronics.