Designed to accelerate innovation, the cutting-edge facility will help address complex challenges with real-world impact. The RIC’s expanding impact on CMU’s global robotics research, development, and commercialization also fuels the continued growth of Hazelwood Green as a driver of Pittsburgh’s future economic engine.
The Center’s shared vision unites university, industry, community and government leaders, driving innovative solutions for economic and societal impact. To further that endeavor, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a $1.5 million state investment in CMU’s plan to develop a new 25,000-square-foot Physical AI Accelerator inside the RIC.
"We are all’in on innovation, and Pittsburgh, in particular, as being a center of that," Shapiro said. "Here we are poised for explosive growth in technology and innovation, and combined with the other investments we are making, from downtown to other important industries, I think Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is on the rise and this is such a big reason why."
Partnerships accelerate speed of discovery
Carnegie Mellon and industry partners like FieldAI, the RIC’s first corporate tenant , share a focus on advancing robotics and AI safely.The unicorn is establishing a 2,500-square-foot lab and office suite on the building’s second floor led by Sebastian Scherer , who serves as FieldAI’s director of Fieldable Embodied AI and leads its expanding Pittsburgh-based operations.
Scherer, associate research professor in the Robotics Institute with the School of Computer Science , will oversee the exchange of talent between FieldAI and CMU aided by the new space at the RIC.
"What excites me most about the RIC is the density of talent," said Shayegan Omidshafiei , president and Chief Scientific Officer of FieldAI. "Having our researchers and engineers in the same building as CMU’s world-renowned robotics leaders, such as Sebastian Scherer, creates the kind of daily collaboration that leads to real breakthroughs."
A new home for robotics research
Carnegie Mellon faculty, staff and students will test robots for land, water, air and space in the new 150,000-square-foot building enabling discoveries in fields such as national security, health care, agriculture, transportation and more.Friday’s opening celebration included more than a dozen active robotics and physical AI demonstrations showcasing how CMU research labs and industry partners accelerate innovation, commercialization and job creation in the region and beyond.
CMU’s Robotics Innovation Center Secures FieldAI as Inaugural Corporate Tenant
"Today, this facility is bringing state-of-the-art infrastructure together with the ability to tap into the nation’s and region’s most comprehensive regional network of robotics testing sites. And it demonstrates how a university can invest locally and meet national needs while enhancing our economic competitiveness and national security," CMU President Farnam Jahanian said. "What excites me most about this space is the serendipity it will spark: Researchers crossing paths with entrepreneurs, students learning alongside practitioners, ideas conceived of and brought to reality in indoor, outdoor, aquatic and virtual environments. Because breakthroughs rarely happen in isolation. They happen in communities of brilliant thinkers, dreamers and do-ers. This building, and this site, was designed to make those collisions possible."The facility features a variety of specific research-enabled spaces, including an open layout wet lab, 75,000-gallon water tank, reconfigurable high bays, a 1.5-acre, large-footprint outdoor lab with a 6,000-square-foot drone cage, tens of thousands of square feet of additional indoor testing space and space for additional corporate partners.
Aside from the physical spaces, the RIC will also complement the work of CMU’s National Robotics Engineering Center and the university’s Manufacturing Futures Institute. The new facility will also encourage more workforce and economic development through stronger partnerships with the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute , Catalyst Connection next door at Mill 19 and the University of Pittsburgh’s BioForge.
"When I was a student here, robotics was still a fledgling field, and few could have imagined the scale of impact and leadership CMU would have in the world," said David Coulter, chair of the CMU Board of Trustees. "Yet through collective vision, persistence and bold leadership, this university built modern robotics. From pioneering autonomous vehicles and space robotics to transforming manufacturing, health care and national security, CMU researchers and students have consistently asked - and answered - the most complex questions. This new Robotics Innovation Center ensures that we will continue to lead well into the future."
Investment spurs innovation
Developers broke ground on the RIC in late 2023 and construction, supported by a $45 million lead grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation , began in January 2024 . The final steel beam, forged in Pennsylvania and signed in July that year , is now visible as part of the second-floor ceiling structure, symbolizing the project’s comprehensive purpose."The Trustees of the Richard King Mellon Foundation approved this extraordinary grant because of our conviction that Pittsburgh’s rightful place is to lead, nationally and internationally, in the most promising economic sectors of our time," said Sam Reiman, director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation. "Thanks to Carnegie Mellon University’s unmatched stature in robotics, the RIC will put Pittsburgh at its vanguard. When people want to see the future of robotics, they will look to Pittsburgh. That leadership will create widespread economic-development benefits for the greater Pittsburgh region. And it will help to create greater prosperity for Hazelwood - a community that helped to lead the nation’s technological revolution in centuries past, and now is poised to do so once again."
The project has also received generous support from the Heinz Endowments, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and numerous other partners. Investments in resources like the RIC now to make a deeper impact tomorrow are just one way CMU fosters support and develops partnerships from across the nation and region, including those in the innovation ecosystem that turn research and ideas into for-profit companies to accelerate progress. CMU-spurred startups have a cumulative value of more than $650 billion and have raised more than $40 billion.
"None of this would be possible without the extraordinary generosity of our supporters," said David Bennett, vice president for University Advancement. "We are especially grateful for the leadership of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, whose commitment to innovation and to this region helped make the Robotics Innovation Center a reality. We are also thankful to the many donors, partners and trustees whose belief in CMU’s mission continues to move us forward as an institution committed to changing the world for the better."
Physical AI will be critical in boosting future economic growth of the United States. Innovations created at the RIC will ensure the Pittsburgh region is well-positioned to lead in this space.
CMU’s Campus Design and Facility Development staff worked in conjunction with the following organizations to complete the project:
- Perkins Eastman, Pittsburgh, PA - Principal Architect (Prime Designer)
- Gilbane Mosites Joint Venture, Pittsburgh, PA - Construction Manager
- Tishman Speyer, Pittsburgh, PA - Developer
"Pittsburgh has always been a place of innovation, and the Robotics Innovation Center carries that legacy forward. At Perkins Eastman, we are proud to have designed the RIC as a flexible, high-performance environment that can evolve with the rapid pace of AI and robotics research. Congratulations to CMU - the RIC is an exciting new chapter in the University’s - and Pittsburgh’s - story of innovation."
- Jeff Young , AIA, executive director at Perkins Eastman and managing principal of the firm’s Pittsburgh studio "Carnegie Mellon University continues to set the standard for innovation while remaining deeply committed to developing and retaining local talent. The Robotics Innovation Center reflects that balance, pairing world-class research with a strong workforce development focus that engaged local contractors, trades and community partners. Mosites was proud to partner with CMU in supporting and advancing this mission. It’s exciting to see a project that not only advances innovation but also strengthens the region’s workforce and future. Projects like this ensure that Pittsburgh’s innovation economy is built by and for the people of this region."
- John Wattick , vice president of preconstruction, Gilbane "Pittsburgh has built a legacy of innovation and reinvention, driven in large part by the investment and collaboration of leading local institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University and the Richard King Mellon Foundation. CMU’s Robotics Innovation Center is a cornerstone of the sustainable hub of discovery and community we are building together at Hazelwood Green."
- Nooshin Felsenthal, managing director, Tishman Speyer
Center inspires transformational change
Pioneering work by Carnegie Mellon researchers in artificial intelligence and automation have built a world-class ecosystem providing an operational edge in robotics innovations. Among these is CMU’s AI Science Foundry , a collection of AI-enabled autonomous labs that allow researchers to remotely design and deploy autonomous science experiments to collect and analyze data."Carnegie Mellon researchers have been at the forefront of robotics and AI for decades," said Theresa Mayer , Vice President for Research. "The Robotics Innovation Center creates a unique environment where researchers from universities, industry, national labs, and startups can collaborate on future generations of intelligent systems that integrate AI and robotics in powerful new ways. This will shorten the time required to incorporate transformative advances from basic research into fieldable solutions across industries such as transportation, manufacturing, national security and healthcare."
As progress transforms discovery and application, it is also reshaping the city’s landscape, evident through the location of the RIC, once home to working steel mills. Development of the 178-acre Hazelwood Green site first began in 2002 . Now, it is the site of initiatives positioning Carnegie Mellon and the Pittsburgh region as a leader in the innovation economy.
"Pittsburgh was built for this moment. We’re reclaiming our past, but talking about how our future is going to be built on the world stage," Mayor Corey O’Connor said. "This project is going to make sure that Pittsburgh is everyone’s first choice. It’s going to continue to grow our city, but it’s also going to amplify our successes in Pittsburgh to the world stage."
RIC invites opportunities for community-building
Carnegie Mellon leaders are committed and active participants in the Greater Hazelwood Community Collaborative, dedicated to improving economic, social and physical outcomes for all residents of Hazelwood and surrounding neighborhoods.As such, the university played a significant role in developing the Greater Hazelwood Neighborhood Plan, according to Tim Smith, founder and CEO of Center of Life , a community nonprofit that has provided programs and services to the people of Greater Hazelwood for nearly 25 years. Collaboration between CMU and the center allows both organizations to better serve the community together.
"Partnerships play a vital role in community empowerment," he said. "This is why we are pleased to see the Robotics Innovation Center land in the Hazelwood community. CMU is no stranger to our neighborhood or to the Center of Life. Our partnership has engaged several schools within the university and produced numerous initiatives that have brought people from 69 countries to visit and engage with Hazelwood residences and service providers."
The public space in the RIC includes windows into robotics workspaces and the RIC will host robotics-related programs open to the community. These combine to expand Carnegie Mellon’s outreach efforts and provide an exciting venue where students and others can learn more about the development of robotics and opportunities in STEM.
"CMU has made real efforts to engage with community organizations, residents and local leaders. Those conversations, the programming with our young people and the intentional outcome matters. And it demonstrates that being a good neighbor is as important as being a leading research institution," said Sonya Tilghman, executive director of the Hazelwood Initiative. "The inclusion of public and shared spaces creates real opportunity for residents and students and researchers to gather and connect. The design of the building, both interior and exterior, also reflects a clear respect for Hazelwood’s character and history."
A community open house is planned for March 16 , featuring robotics demonstrations, refreshments and tours of the new facility including a permanent exhibit reflecting on the history of the area, steelmaking and innovation.
