# Northern Illinois University: robot AI company

Canonical ID: `96fe93f3-d6d8-45b7-8153-54220beb0228`

## Key facts

- **President:** [Lisa C. Freeman](/people/lisa-freeman-niu.md)
- **Type:** Public research university
- **Students:** 16,078 (fall 2025)
- **Endowment:** $122.6 million (2025)
- **Robotics lab:** Omron Robotics and Mechatronics Laboratory (est. 2013)
- **Key research:** Swarm robotics, human-robot interaction, collective behavior
- **Robotics Club founded:** August 2012 by Ryan Riddel
- **CEET Dean:** [Dave Grewell](/people/dave-grewell.md)

- **Slug:** northern-illinois-university
- **Founded:** 1895
- **HQ:** DeKalb, Illinois, USA

## Models

_No models registered._

## Current leadership (3)

- [Lisa C. Freeman](/people/lisa-freeman-niu.md) President (secondary-verified)
- [Sachit Butail](/people/sachit-butail.md) Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering (secondary-verified)
- [Dave Grewell](/people/dave-grewell.md) Dean, CEET (secondary-verified)

## Partnerships (2)

- [NIU x AutomationDirect - Automation Laboratory](/partnerships/niu-x-automationdirect-automation-laboratory.md) with AutomationDirect _development_
- [NIU x Omron Foundation - Robotics and Mechatronics Laboratory](/partnerships/niu-x-omron-foundation-robotics-and-mechatronics-laboratory.md) with Omron Foundation _development_

## Supplies to

_No verified supply relationships on file. Supply-chain coverage is being added across the registry; check back as the seed populates this company's outbound edges._

_Outbound supply edges. Each appears when verified with at least two strong sources. Sources are append-only; corrections add new sources rather than rewrite history._

## Common questions

### What is Northern Illinois University?

Public research university in DeKalb, Illinois with active robotics research through its College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (CEET). Home to the Omron Robotics and Mechatronics Laboratory (established 2013 with Omron Foundation support) and NSF-funded swarm robotics research led by Associate Professor Sachit Butail. The NIU Robotics Club, founded in 2012, has won multiple Midwestern Robotics Design Competition titles including first-ever flying robot and autonomous robot entries.

### What does Northern Illinois University make?

Northern Illinois University has no robot models recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Northern Illinois University builds robot foundation models or autonomy software.

### Where is Northern Illinois University headquartered?

Northern Illinois University is headquartered in DeKalb, Illinois, USA.

### When was Northern Illinois University founded?

Northern Illinois University was founded in 1895.


## The verified answers

- [Which companies have the most robots deployed](/which-companies-have-the-most-robots-deployed.md)
- [Which operators run the most robots](/which-operators-run-the-most-robots.md)
- [Which robot operators cover the most countries](/which-robot-operators-cover-the-most-countries.md)

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