Vision, Assistive Devices, and Experimental Robotics Laboratory

Welcome to the VADER Laboratory at Lehigh University! Founded in September 2003, the lab serves as an inter-disciplinary research center focused on advancing the field of applied robotics with an emphasis on: assistive technologies, vision-aided robotics, and multi-agent systems. Based in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science (RCEAS), the laboratory welcomes students with backgrounds stemming from a multitude of disciplines. These include but are by no means limited to: Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering.

Feel free to browse our pages. If you have any questions or comments, please email these to VADER Email.

What's New?

9 June 2009: John Spletzer receives NSF CAREER Award
Professor John Spletzer received a NSF Faculty Early CAREER Development Award to investigate smart wheelchair technologies for navigating urban environments.
17 May 2009: Jason Derenick wins Stout Dissertation Award
Congratulations to Jason Derenick, who was awarded the 2009 Elizabeth V. Stout Dissertation Award for the the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Jason is now a post-doctoral researcher at the GRASP Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania.
13 May 2009: Lab research to be presented at FSR 2009
Ms. Chao Gao and Mr. Thomas Miller will present technical papers at the 7th International Conference on Field and Service Robotics to be held at MIT this 14-16 July.
12 Nov 2008: VADER Lab funded to develop smart wheelchair technologies
Freedom Sciences, LLC and Prof. Spletzer have been awarded a Phase 1 SBIR by the National Science Foundation, as well as a grant from The Technology Collaborative to support the development of smart wheelchair technologies.
22 Jul 2008: ATRS project awarded NSF supplement
Our ATRS project was awarded a 1 year supplement by the NSF Partnerships for Innovation Program.
23 Jun 2008: ATRS receives FDA Approval
Our industry partner Freedom Sciences received FDA approval to market ATRS. The ATRS-Lite system is expected to go on sale later this summer.
more news...