Horsham Township official Dennis Haggerty holds Stormbot, which Penn State Abington and Brandywine senior engineering students developed with guidance from Bob Avanzato, associate professor of engineering, right.
Students from Abington and Penn State Brandywine spend four semesters in the new general engineering facility at Penn State Great Valley. They also must complete an internship.
Charles Liggett, a Penn State Abington senior in the multidisciplinary engineering program, and Horsham Public Works Director Dennis Haggerty review the Stormbot video on the console at the field test.
General engineering majors from Penn State Abington and Brandywine developed a mobile robot to inspect storm water pipes in nearby Horsham Township. This field test demonstrates some of its capabilities. The township saved about $60,000 by working with the students instead of purchasing a robot.
Purchasing a $60,000 video robot to inspect stormwater pipes didn’t fit into the budget for one Pennsylvania municipality, so officials turned to students in Penn State's Philadelphia regional engineering degree. They delivered Stormbot on time and way, way under budget.
Last summer, the Penn State Brandywine Vairo Library staff enrolled in the Green Paws program. Green Paws is a certification program designed to help offices at either University Park or other Commonwealth Campuses to be more sustainable.
