The Department of Computer Science at University of Southern California offers a 10-week summer research program for undergraduates in Robotics and Autonomous Systems. USC has a large and well established robotics research program that ranges from theoretical to experimental and systems-oriented. USC is a leader in the societally relevant area of robotics for healthcare and at-risk populations (children, the elderly, veterans, etc.); networked robotics for scientific discovery, covering for example environmental monitoring, target tracking, and formation control; using underwater, ground, and aerial robots; and control, machine learning, and perceptual algorithms for grasping, manipulation, and locomotion of humanoid robots. For a comprehensive resource on USC robotics see http://rasc.usc.edu.

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Undergraduates in the program will gain research experience spanning the spectrum of cutting edge research topics in robotics. They will also gain exposure to robotics research beyond the scope of the REU site, through seminars by other USC faculty and external site visits, to aid in planning their next career steps. External visits may include trips to the USC Information Sciences Institute (ISI) in Marina del Ray, one of the world's leading research centers in the fields of computer science and information technology; the USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) in Playa Vista, whose technologies for virtual reality and computer simulation have produced engaging, new, immersive technologies for learning, training, and operational environments; as well as NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, which has led the world in exploring the solar system's known planets with robotic spacecraft.

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Robotics is an interdisciplinary field, involving expertise in computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, but also fields outside engineering; this gives the REU students an opportunity to learn about different fields and the broad nature of research. Thus, we welcome applications from students in computer science and all fields of engineering, as well as other fields including neuroscience, psychology, kinesiology, etc. In addition to participating in seminars and social events, students will also prepare a final written report and present their projects to the rest of the institute at the end of the summer.

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This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (CNS-2051117). The site focuses on recruiting a diverse set of participants, as well as students from underrepresented groups.

• U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is required.
• Students must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate program.
• Students must not have completed an undergraduate degree prior to the summer program.