Spring 2026 Research Directions at MPCR
The Machine Perception and Cognitive Robotics Laboratory enters Spring 2026 with an ambitious slate of research spanning the frontiers of natural computing and complex systems. With 20 active projects and 14 researchers working across disciplines, this is one of the most productive periods in the lab’s history.
Several threads stand out this semester. The Compressed Inference project is pushing forward on efficient neural network deployment, investigating methods to reduce computational overhead without sacrificing model quality. Our AI Classroom initiative continues to develop intelligent tools for education, bringing machine learning into the teaching process itself. MemoryWords, a memory-based computing system rooted in Dr. Hahn’s foundational work, explores alternative computational paradigms that challenge conventional architectures.
On the theoretical side, the lab’s quantum computing research is investigating quantum advantage for optimization and simulation tasks, while our swarm intelligence work examines emergent collective behavior in decentralized systems. These projects sit alongside ongoing efforts in evolutionary dynamics, programming language research, and vision-language-action models.
We encourage students and collaborators interested in any of these directions to visit mpcrlab.com to learn more about our work and how to get involved. The Sandbox is open and the research is moving fast.