Outreach

The NAIL Lab is committed to advancing STEM education and engaging with the broader community. Our outreach aims to inspire the next generation of engineers and researchers and to build public understanding of autonomous systems and AI.

Educational programs

We take part in programs that bring robotics and AI to students and teachers at every level.

  • Young students watching robots in the NAIL Lab testing arena.

    2024–present

    K-12 lab visits and robotics demonstrations

    Interactive demonstrations of autonomous drones, ground robots, and AI applications for K-12 students, to inspire them to pursue STEM careers.

  • High school students working on laptops during a summer camp session.

    2025–present

    Summer renewable energy and AI robotics camps

    Week-long camps for high school students, run with the Houston Area Urban League, with hands-on robot programming, sensor integration, and autonomous navigation.

  • Educators presenting summer research projects in a classroom.

    2024–present

    Teacher professional development

    Sessions for K-12 educators on bringing robotics and AI into the classroom, through the Research Experience for Preservice Teachers summer program.

  • Undergraduate capstone team members standing in the lab with their drones.

    2024–present

    Capstone research projects

    Mentoring undergraduates in capstone projects such as the AI-powered drone and race car teams, co-supervised with Dr. Qin Lin.

Capstone project

UH students build an autonomous drone with real-time object detection

Computer Engineering Technology undergraduates designed, assembled, and programmed this drone from scratch as their senior capstone project with guidance from the NAIL Lab. It flies autonomously using OptiTrack motion capture and detects objects in real time on board.

Community events and public engagement

We bring our robots to campus and community events to share what autonomous systems and AI can do.

  • New students gathered around the lab's quadruped robot during a demonstration.

    2024–present

    Cullen College new student events

    Demonstrations of NAIL Lab research for newly admitted undergraduates, to encourage them to explore robotics and AI research.

  • Students presenting a robotics project to visitors at the research symposium.

    2024–present

    Undergraduate research symposium

    Our undergraduate students present their work on autonomous systems, AI, and robotics to the university community at the annual symposium.

  • Houston ISD high school students attending a research presentation.

    2024

    Houston ISD high school research showcase

    We presented NAIL Lab research to 126 high school students from Houston ISD at the University of Houston Sugar Land campus.

  • The NAIL Lab booth with drones and robots at the Fort Bend Chamber Technology Expo.

    2024

    Fort Bend Chamber technology events

    We showcased our research at Technology Day and the 5th Annual Fort Bend Chamber Technology Expo for industry professionals and community members.

Get involved

We welcome partnerships with schools, community organizations, and educational institutions. If you would like to host a robotics demonstration, organize a workshop, or develop an educational partnership, we would love to hear from you.

Contact us about outreach