ENGINEERING IN THE TIME OF COVID:
ESD Members Adapt and Assist
A
s the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in March, Michigan companies, like the rest of the country, began to make adjustments for the safety of employees, clients, students and the community. Members of The Engineering Society of Detroit were quick to adapt. Universities adjusted the learning environment to online courses in order to allow students to safely complete the semester’s work. In addition, university research continued as many learning institutions switched their focus to coronavirus solutions.
Meanwhile, corporate leadership and staff modified their work spaces to remote and Zoom meetings kept the day-to-day work going for many. While some manufacturing facilities closed for safety, most are gearing up or have returned with a new method of safety and operations. At the same time companies with unique technology and research results made adjustments for new uses to do their part. The following stories are just a few examples of how ESD members stepped up in a multitude of effective endeavors.
U-M Delivery Robots Help Restaurants Weather Crisis BY GABE CHERRY
Until the robots rolled up, Korean eatery Miss Kim looked like any other COVID-stilled storefront in downtown Ann Arbor, with chairs upended on tables and hastily scrawled signs papering the windows. Inside, chef and managing partner Ji Hye Kim, a University of Michigan alum, cooks takeout orders. While the restaurant does a brisk carryout business, Kim says she brings in less than half the revenue she did before COVID closed the dining room. Business is booming, however, for the trickle of threewheeled, autonomous REV-1 delivery robots that silently park themselves at Miss Kim’s curb, ready to be loaded with food before they wheel away to pre-programmed destinations. Refraction AI, a University of Michigan startup that began delivering food in late 2019, says its pilot deployment of eight robots is doing four times as many runs since the crisis began. “We can deliver for about half the price of conventional delivery services,” said Matthew JohnsonRoberson, co-founder of Refraction AI and a U-M associate professor of naval architecture and engineering. “We thought of that as a nice benefit for restaurant operators, but we had no idea how important it would become as restaurants struggle to get through the crisis. I’m glad that we’re also able to add some capacity to the delivery infrastructure and help restaurants get more food out to customers.” Refraction AI was co-founded in late 2019 by Johnson-Roberson and mechanical engineering assistant 22 | TechCentury | Summer 2020
Robotic food deliveries have quadrupled.
