New projects
Access for new projects in the Flying Arena can be requested by faculty and graduate students. To do so, fill out the form below and indicate in the comments section that this is a new requested project. You will be given an IRL Project# to submit requests for time on the schedule.
Access for new projects in the Robotics Pavilion or Highbay Testbed will need a faculty sponsor, who will need to read the guidelines and perform a space request at the linked form on the Robotics Wiki. Faculty sponsors not already affiliated with the robotics group can ask the director to become an affiliate. Once a project is approved, faculty sponsors will need to perform a risk assessment and submit a risk mitigation plan before moving in equipment and personnel. Then the lead graduate student should fill out the form below to gain access. You will be given an IRL Project# to submit requests for time on the schedule. Each project team member added will also need to fill out the form below after completing steps 1-3 below.
Obtaining access for new personnel
At this time only graduate students can obtain card key access to IRL facilities. However, undergraduates can work in the lab and participate with experimentation, when accompanied by a graduate student from your project, after completing Lab Safety Training.
Please follow these instructions carefully to gain access Intelligent Robotics Lab Facilities (IRL Flying Arena, Robotics Pavilion or Highbay satellite facility):
1. Review the UIUC Division of Research Safety (DRS) Policy tutorials (Lab Risk Assessment tutorial is not required). Save the confirmation page as a PDF or screenshot after you have completed the tutorials.
2. Review the current Covid-19 Campus Safety Information.
3. Review the General Usage Guidelines and specific procedures below for the project and/or area you are gaining access to:
- For access to the IRL Flying Arena, review the Lab Manual
- For access to the GEM AEV, review the GEM AEV Safety Rules
- For access to robot manipulation projects, review the Manipulator Safety Rules
- For access to IRL labs during periods of high Covid-19 transmission, review Arena Covid-19 Procedures, Pavilion Covid-19 Procedures, or Highbay Covid-19 Procedures
4. Fill out the access form with all pertinent information for your project. To do so:Log in using your University NetID. - Come back to this page
- Fill out the form below.
5. Schedule a Lab Access and Safety Training meeting with the Lab Manager & Coordinator of the Robotics Shared Labs. During this meeting, you may also discuss your intended work and to see how space and additional assistance can be provided during your experimentation.
6. The Lab Manager & Coordinator will then request to activate your i-card for access to the CfA facilities.
7. For Robotics Pavilion and Highbay projects: Make sure you review your project specific training procedures and ensure that your faculty sponsor has logged the date of your training.
8. For Flying in the Arena: If you will be flying a quadcopter, etc., contact the lab manager for a time for a Flight Test. IRL has a flight simulator and also a small quadcopter for students to practice with prior to testing. The first parts of the Flight Test can be conducted with any UAV and the simulator can be used for more complicated maneuvers. However, the last part of the Flight Test requires showing the actual maneuvers you will be making with the research platform you will be using during your research.
9. Visit Reserve Lab page to reserve your lab time with the IRL Project# you are assigned.