cdr lab

CDR CyPhyLab

The CDR has desired to position itself as the equivalent to what Stanford is to Silicon Valley or Michigan to Ford, a University research resource close to corporate yet far enough that research on new concepts relating to specific industry problems could be conducted with new talent and in a creative workspace outside of their corporate environment.

The CDR can guarantee the delivery of talent from our selected students and the unique three-building complex on KU’s west campus. We need the tools and mentoring to enable our students to progress to the next level of their development. The recently renovated one-hundred-year-old farmhouse and Barn have been completely modified to provide a fully outfitted ID/UX/UI Design prototype studio, a high-end Virtual/Augmented Reality lab, drones, robots, and more. Collectively the new facility is what we refer to as the CyPhyLab (cyber-physical). The CyPhyLab is a specifically designated building that would facilitate technology education and experimentation for the next generation of innovators. The role of the CDR CyPhyLab is to:

  • Provide a“hands-on” experience with intelligent products
  • Accelerate interdisciplinary research and collaboration with KU design and engineering
  • Enable students to apply technology to areas of the Internet of Things, Connected Cars, and Wearables
  • Create a core workspace with everyday use equipment for rapid prototyping
  • Provide first-hand experience with industry sponsor team members
  • Provide year-round research activities as opposed to a semester schedule
  • Establish international recognition for preeminence in design/product/service innovation
  • Possible convergence with other CDR collaborators if projects merit interfacing

Support of the CyPhyLab by KU Information Technology, and industry partners such as T-Mobile, Ford, Intel, and more, send a positive message to the industry and the academic community and supports the enhanced education of KU’s students, thus putting more emphasis on practice than theory.

Today, our Industry Sponsors and KU are wrestling with the same issues that designers routinely tackle: How do you differentiate yourself in an increasingly competitive field? How do you generate fresh ideas and implement them in a timely fashion? And how do you make sure those ideas benefit customers?

The CyPhyLab would answer all these questions and provide a foundation for tomorrow.