Recently our Tallinn University and Tampere University teams met in Finland, in TACCU – Tampere Accessibility Unit – to observe and forge possible collaboration in inclusive education focusing on assistive technologies and virtual learning environments. The visit included tours of various laboratories such as Assistive Technology labs, Virtual Natural Environments, FabLab, RoboLab, and others. The team consisted of Research Professor in Digital Transformation Merja Bauters, Research Fellow in Digital Transformation Abiodun Ogunyemi, Ph.D., Research Fellow James Sunney Quaicoe, and a doctoral exchange student from the University of Ghana Joseph Kwame Sasu.
The two institutions have already successfully collaborated on designing a new Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s program in Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Societies (AISS). In the picture, the team was received by Chia-Hsin Wu at the Social Robot Lab, who showed how to operate the Boston Dynamics robot dog, Spot. The robot dog can navigate terrain with agility, mimicking the movements of a dog. It could be useful in industrial construction, public safety, data collection, and remote operation in hazardous environments. Thanks to our TAU partners Markku Turunen, Pauliina Baltzar for the warm welcome.