Appalachian State Robotics Lab

Innovating the future of intelligent machines

Explore Our Research

About the Robotics Lab

The Robotics Lab at Appalachian State University is dedicated to fostering innovative research, hands‑on learning, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Our mission is to develop intelligent robotic systems that improve lives and address real‑world challenges by integrating artificial intelligence, machine learning, and human‑robot interaction.

Founded in 2025, the lab serves as a hub for innovation and collaboration within the Department of Computer Science.
We welcome partners from various universities and industries to advance the state of the art in robotics and inspire the next generation of engineers and scientists.

News

Latest updates from the Robotics Lab

Robotics Lab website launched
April 2026

Congratulations to Molly on her successful honers thesis defense

Molly recently completed a major achievement by successfully defending her thesis, titled: "Cross-Platform Localization Framework for Mobile Robots". We are proud of her dedication and hard work, grateful for the meaningful impact she has had on our group, and excited to see all that she will accomplish in the next stage of her professional journey.

Robotics Lab website launched
April 2026

Robotics Lab Students Showcase Research at OSR

Zach and Michael presented their latest research at the OSR Student Research and Creative Activities event, highlighting innovative work in robotics and AI. Their presentations demonstrated the impact of graduate research in advancing intelligent systems and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Robotics Lab website launched
March 2026

Congratulations to Michael Sciole on his successful thesis defense

Michael successfully defended his thesis on March 27, titled “MLPSEMBLE: A MLP-Based Ensemble Network,” marking an important milestone in his academic journey. We warmly congratulate him on this achievement, thank him for his valuable contributions to our group, and wish him continued success in his future career and endeavors.

Robotics Lab website launched
March 2026

STEAM Expo 2026 at App State

Robotics Lab Showcases Interactive Demonstration at STEAM Expo 2026: Discover Your Future! for Middle and High School Students in Western North Carolina.

Robotics Lab website launched
Jan 2026

Paper Accepted at ACM/IEEE HRI Conference

Congratulations to Nathan on the acceptance of his paper "Deployment-Oriented Benchmarking of Open-Source Large Language Models for Social Robots" at the ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human–Robot Interaction (HRI)—the premier conference in robotics.

Robotics Lab website launched
Dec 2025

Undergraduate Research Assistantship Award for Spring 2026

Congratulations to Molly on receiving an Undergraduate Research Assistantship (URA) award for Spring 2026, approved by Appalachian State University’s Office of Student Research. This award recognizes her initiative and strong commitment to undergraduate research in our lab.

Student opportunities
Nov 2025

Congratulations to Michael Sciole on 3MT Finalist Recognition!

We are proud to congratulate Michael on being selected as a finalist in Appalachian State University’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. This achievement places him among the top nine competitors university-wide and reflects the high quality of his research and presentation skills. Congratulations to Michael on this well-deserved recognition!

Research Areas

Click on each area to learn more

Human‑Robot Interaction

Enhancing communication and collaboration between humans and machines.

Assistive Robotics

Robots that support rehabilitation and improve accessibility.

Machine Learning & Perception

Applied machine learning techniques for perception and control in robotics.

Bioinformatics & Health AI

Developing machine learning algorithms for biomedical data and healthcare applications.

Our Team

Dr. Yeganeh Madadi

Dr. Yeganeh Madadi

Robotics Lab Director

Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science
Appalachian State University

Email: [email protected]

Website 
Qays Shashaa

Qays Shashaa

Graduate Student

Qays Shashaa

Qays works on human-robot interaction under continuous human motion.

Hasaan Noor

Hasaan Noor

Graduate Student

Hasaan Noor

Hasaan works on bioinformatics and single‑cell data analysis, applying machine learning to uncover biological insights.

Mason Luke

Mason Luke

Graduate Student

Mason Luke

Mason works on lifelong evolution of robot personality.

Emiliano Pecina-Tristan

Emiliano Pecina-Tristan

Undergraduate Student

Emiliano Pecina-Tristan

Emiliano works on Multimodal memory for long-term human-robot collaboration.

Aiden Barrie

Aiden Barrie

Undergraduate Student

Aiden Barrie

Aiden works on bioinformatics and single‑cell data analysis, applying machine learning to uncover biological insights.

Contact Us

Email: [email protected]

Address: Anne Belk Hall, Robotics Lab, Room 312N‑2
Appalachian State University
Boone, NC 28608