Designing drone and robotics educational spaces of the future
LEO A DALY’s Kristi Nohavec and Sheila Ireland share drone and robotics projects with American School and University
Recent Perspectives
From scouting crops for infestation of pests to finding survivors of a disaster, robots hold nearly endless opportunities to interact with our environment. Universities can be a testing and innovation ground to find new ways to create and use these emerging technologies—and train the workforce for jobs that don’t even exist today.
To do this, they need space for testing. Space where drones can fly and robot capabilities can be tested and practiced, and the robot operator can learn in a safe environment. Where researchers can watch from a distance to refine the operational programming or tighten trajectories. Additionally, future drone pilots and robotics operators need a place to test out their skills in a space that’s safe to make mistakes and learn from them.
Sophisticated uses might need to test whether a drone can operate with high winds, or if a robot can move over sand, or communicate under water.
LEO A DALY Education Market Sector Leader Kristi Nohavec and Senior Architect Sheila Ireland teamed up with Mark Riley the associate dean for research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Engineering to share design strategies for drone and robotics spaces. They drew from a new lab at UNL along with other projects around the country that allow higher education institutions to teach and research cutting-edge technologies in this growing field.
Read the article in American School and University: Designing for unlimited possibilities: Drone and robotics facilities.
About the authors
Kristi Nohavec, PE, AIA, LEED AP
Market Sector Leader, Education
Kristi Nohavec, PE, AIA, LEED AP, is a dual-licensed architect and structural engineer with 30 years of experience,. She leads complex educational projects with a focus on client collaboration and delivering innovative environments that support educational excellence and evolving institutional needs.
Sheila Ireland, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Senior Architect
With nearly 25 years of experience, Ireland specializes in planning, coordinating, and designing academic facilities, and providing critical construction administration and quality control throughout all project phases.